IARC's mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer prevention and control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships.
20/01/2012 - The annual Science & Wireless series, held in Australia, provides an opportunity for researchers, regulators, industry specialists and members of the community to meet and discuss topical issues in a public forum.
In November 2011 the event provided an opportunity to consider the implications of the International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC)'s recent classification of Radiofrequency (RF) as 2B 'possibly carcinogenic'. Read more
19/01/2012 - Cancer is an emerging public health problem in Africa. About 715,000
new cancer cases and 542,000 cancer deaths occurred in 2008 on the
continent, with these numbers expected to double in the next 20 years
simply because of the aging and growth of the population.
This paper reviews the current patterns of cancer in Africa and the
opportunities for reducing the burden through the application of
resource level interventions, including implementation of vaccinations
for liver and cervical cancers, tobacco control policies for
smoking-related cancers, and low-tech early detection methods for
cervical cancer, as well as pain relief at the palliative stage of
cancer.
Cancer burden in Africa and opportunities for prevention
A Jemal, F Bray, D Forman, M O'Brien, J Ferlay, M Center, DM Parkin.
Cancer. 2012 Jan 17. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27410. [Epub ahead of print] Read more
16/01/2012 - Some case-control studies have reported increased risk of glioma associated with mobile phone use. These increased risks would ultimately result in increased incidence rates of glioma over time, after a certain lag or induction period following the introduction of mobile phones. This study analyzed annual age standardized incidence rates of glioma in men and women aged 20 to 79 years in the Nordic countries from 1979-2008.
No clear trend change was observed in the incidence rates of glioma in the adult population of the Nordic countries during this period. Some of the higher risk increases reported in case-control studies appear to be incompatible with the observed lack of incidence rate increase in middle-aged men, even when considering exposures and induction periods of up to 15 years, suggesting that biases and errors in the self-reported use of mobile phone may have distorted some of the findings. The results of this study are consistent with either the absence of any association between mobile phone use and glioma risk, with lower risks than reported from some case-control studies, or with longer induction periods than currently investigated.
I Deltour, A Auvinen, M Feychting, C Johansen, L Klaeboe, R Sankila, J Schüz
Epidemiology, Published Ahead-of-Print - Last Updated: January 13, 2012, doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182448295 Read more
