title: Use of mechanistic data in the IARC evaluations of the carcinogenicity of polychlorinated biphenyls and related compounds.
abstract: The IARC Monographs are a series of scientific reviews that identify environmental factors that can increase the risk of cancer in humans. In its first part, the principles and procedures of the IARC Monographs evaluations are summarized. In a second part, we present the most recent IARC evaluation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), performed in February 2013: PCBs and dioxin-like PCBs were both classified into group 1 "carcinogens," while PBBs were evaluated as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (group 2A). Noteworthy is that the relative contributions of different PCB congeners to the carcinogenicity of PCB mixtures are not known. The use of mechanistic data for the classification into a higher category is discussed in the context of the history of the consecutive evaluations of several related polychlorinated compounds.
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France. secretanb@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lauby-Secretan
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loomis
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baan
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Fatiha
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El Ghissassi
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bouvard
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Lamia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benbrahim-Tallaa
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Neela
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guha
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Grosse
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Section of the IARC Monographs, 150, cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon, Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Straif
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D014116:Toxicology / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Cancer bioassays; Carcinogenicity; Epidemiology; Genotoxicity; Hazard identification; Receptor-mediated effects