Applications of CPBS to Cancer Hazard Identification

The field of genetic toxicology finds itself at a crossroads. On the one hand, the premise of the somatic mutation theory of cancer, which provides a scientific basis for the development of short-term tests for predicting cancers, has been amply vindicated by the discovery of oncogene activation. On the other hand, however, recent NTP-sponsored studies have cast doubt upon the performance of short-term tests as predictors of carcinogenicity (Tennant et al., 1987). Analysis of the NTP results by the CPBS shows that this is an incorrect conclusion resulting from an oversimplification (Rosenkranz and Ennever, 1988a). Also, it appears that we have no choice but to continue using short-term tests since the other alternatives are (a) not to test but to wait for untoward effects in our exposed human population and (b) to continue relying solely on animal bioassays.