The Section of Environment encompasses two epidemiological research Groups which investigate the contribution of ionizing radiation, lifestyle factors and occupation to human cancer risk, and their interactions with genetic factors. The main approach is the coordination of international collaborative studies of cohort and case-control design, and the coordination of international consortia. Studies are conducted in high-income as well as low- and medium-income countries. Most studies involve the collection of biological samples for biomarker and genetic projects.
These studies contribute to the overall strategy of the Agency leading to the identification of causes of human cancer and their prevention.
The Radiation and Cancer Group has projects on the effects of protracted low doses of external ionizing radiation (e.g. international collaborative study of radiation workers in the nuclear industry; cohort studies of children with substantial medical diagnostic exposures [CHILD-MED-RAD]; case-control studies of haematological malignancies and of thyroid cancer among Chernobyl emergency accident workers in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Baltic States), and studies on the interaction between ionizing radiation and genetic factors (e.g. case-control study of thyroid cancer in young people in the wake of the Chernobyl accident, impact of genotype on the effect of radiation exposures at an early age on breast cancer risk [GENE-RAD-RISK] ).
The research portfolio of the Lifestyle and Cancer Group includes projects on the etiology and mechanism of lung cancer, head and neck cancer and lymphoma; studies of tobacco and cancer and of alcohol and cancer; the coordination of international consortia of lung cancer, head and neck cancer and pancreatic cancer, and the establishment of large-scale prospective studies in India and Iran, as well as the preparation of the
IARC Handbooks of Tobacco Control.
The Section receives funds from the
European Commission, the
World Cancer Research Fund, and the
U.S. National Cancer Institute.
