Everything may not cause cancer -- but 228 things do

A report on carcinogens provides an accessible resource for physicians seeking to respond to patients' concerns.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Jan. 27, 2003.

Washington -- That nickel compounds and beryllium should take a spot on a list of 228 known human carcinogens may not be quite as jarring as the placement of steroidal estrogens on that same list. But it makes sense.

"It has been known for some time that estrogens cause endometrial cancer, and there is strong evidence that they may contribute to breast cancer," said Bill Jameson, PhD, who heads the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' panel that produces the federal government's "Report on Carcinogens."

A number of individual steroidal estrogens were already listed as "reasonably anticipated carcinogens" in past editions of the report, but this was the first time all the hormones, which are used in hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives, were listed as a group.

Also newly listed in the report as "known" causes of cancer in humans are broad-spectrum ultraviolet radiation, whether generated by the sun or by artificial sources such as sun lamps and tanning beds; wood dust created in cutting and shaping wood; nickel compounds and beryllium and its compounds commonly used in industry.

The report makes a distinction between known human carcinogens and "reasonably anticipated" human carcinogens where there is either limited evidence of carcinogenicity from human studies or evidence of carcinogenicity from experimental animal studies. The report is issued every two years by the Dept. of Health and Human Services and is prepared by the National Toxicology Program at NIEHS.