Biomarkers：An Important Strategy for Human Health Risk Assessment   全文下載

Biomarkers：An Important Strategy for Human Health Risk Assessment

Cancer epidemiologists estimates that as much as 90% of all cancer in humans is largely associated with our life style, i. e., diet and social habits. It is believed that 80 to 90% of human cancer is preventable. Tobacco smoking accounts for approximately 30% of cancer deaths. The remaining 70% of cancer deaths is mainly due to the carcinogenic chamicals present in diet, drugs, cosmetics, and in the environment. Therefore, it is important to determine the carcinogenic components that we expose to, so that we can avoid or reduce their intake. Because most of the carcinogenic chemicals require metabolic activation, risk evaluation must be based on the quantitative estimate of the dose of the reactive metabolites delivered to the target tissues, and based on the carcinogenic potency of the metabolites. Thus, to perform risk assessment is highly challenging. Isolation, identification and quantification of toxic chemicals that we expose to are not easy. Accurate assessment of carcinogenic potency of a chemical is not easy either.