Applying New Biotechnologies to the Study of Occupational Cancer - A Workshop Summary
Mark Toraason,1,* Richard Albertini,2 Steven Bayard,3 William
Bigbee,4 Aaron Blair,5 Paolo Boffetta,6 Stefano
Bonassi,7 Steven Chanock,5 David Christiani,8 David
Eastmond,9 Samuel Hanash,10 Carol Henry,11 Fred
Kadlubar,12 Frank Mirer,13 Daniel Nebert,14 Stephen
Rapport,15 Kathleen Rest,16 Nathaniel Rothman,5 Avima
Ruder,1 Russell Savage,1,* Paul Schulte,1,* Jack
Siemiatycki,17 Peter Shields,18 Martyn Smith,19 Paige
Tolbert,20 Roel Vermeulen,5 Paolo Vineis,21 Sholom
Wacholder,5 Elizabeth Ward,22,* Michael Waters,23 and
Ainsley Weston24 1National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati,
Ohio, USA; 2University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA; 3Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, Washington, DC, USA; 4University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; 5National
Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; 6International Agency for Research
on Cancer, Lyon, France; 7National Institute for Research on Cancer,
Genoa, Italy; 8Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA; 9University of California, Riverside, California, USA; 10University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; 11American Chemistry Council,
Arlington, Virginia, USA; 12National Center for Toxicological Research,
Jefferson, Arkansas, USA; 13Health and Safety Department, International
Union, United Auto Workers, Detroit, Michigan, USA; 14University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; 15University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, 16National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, Washington, DC, USA; 17University of Montreal,
Montreal, Canada; 18Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA; 19University
of California, Berkeley, California, USA; 20Emory University, Atlanta,
Georgia, USA; 21University of Torino, Torino, Italy; 22 American
Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 23National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; 24National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
Abstract
As high-throughput technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics
evolve, questions arise about their use in the assessment of occupational cancers.
To address these questions, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, and the American Chemistry Council sponsored a workshop 8-9
May 2002 in Washington, DC. The workshop brought together 80 international specialists
whose objective was to identify the means for best exploiting new technologies
to enhance methods for laboratory investigation, epidemiologic evaluation, risk
assessment, and prevention of occupational cancer. The workshop focused on identifying
and interpreting markers for early biologic effect and inherited modifiers of
risk. Key words: biomarkers, chemical exposure, epidemiology, gene-environment
interactions, genomics, occupational cancer, polymorphisms, proteomics, risk
assessment, toxicogenomics. Environ Health Perspect 112:413-416 (2004).
[Online 14 January
2004]
Address corresponding to M. Toraason, NIOSH C23, 4676 Columbia Parkway,
Cincinnati, OH, 45226 USA. Telephone: (513) 533-8207. Fax: (513) 533-8138.
E-mail: mtoraason@cdc.gov
*These authors were responsible for developing the summary based on speaker
presentations at the workshop.
The workshop was cosponsored by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences, and the American Chemistry Council.
The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.
