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The IARC Monographs Programme is a key initiative of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This programme evaluates the carcinogenicity of various agents, including occupational and environmental exposures, complex exposures (e.g. air pollution), and chemical and biological agents (e.g. certain pesticides or viruses). Although IARC does not make recommendations, its classifications are used by health authorities worldwide, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments, to implement effective public health policies aimed at preventing cancer.
The IARC Monographs Programme identifies agents that can cause cancer. It plays a critical role in raising awareness of hazardous exposures and can flag the need for risk assessments, which are then often conducted by health authorities worldwide to protect their populations.
In this unique programme, independent international experts provide a rigorous review and integration of scientific evidence from all publications in the public domain. The IARC Monographs Programme has had significant positive impacts in many major areas, including:
- providing evidence on exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke) and lung cancer, which has led to smoking bans in indoor public places in more than 130 countries;
- identifying asbestos as a carcinogen, resulting in widespread bans and regulations;
- evaluating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as a carcinogen and providing key evidence to governments and regulatory authorities; and
- evaluating occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic, prompting improved safety measures and regulations to protect firefighters.
The costs of the IARC Monographs Programme have risen, while the budget to support it has remained flat and may even decline. These uncertainties about the programme’s future funding create a pressing need for donors to step in so that IARC can continue to carry out its crucially important carcinogenicity evaluations.
Without sustained investment, the world risks losing one of its most authoritative, science-based mechanisms for identifying the preventable causes of cancer in humans, just as cancer rates are rising, especially among younger populations.
IARC calls on its Participating States and all governments, philanthropists, foundations, and donors to support this vital programme and contribute to cancer knowledge and prevention. Now is the time to invest in prevention. Supporting the IARC Monographs Programme is not only an investment in science, it is also a commitment to saving lives. The prevention of cancers in the future depends on the IARC Monographs classifications of today. For more information, contact: imo@iarc.who.int
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VideosVideo: IARC Monographs hazard classification process
For more videos related to the IARC Monographs Programme, view the IARC Monographs playlist
Infographics
Infographics
The IARC Monographs programme: hazard identification versus risk assessment
Learning the difference between hazard and risk is key to understanding the goal of the IARC Monographs programme, which is a process of cancer hazard identification and not a cancer risk assessment process. This infographic illustrates the difference using tobacco smoking as an example.
The IARC Monographs hazard classification
This infographic presents the categories used by the IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans to classify a substance according to the level of certainty that the substance can cause cancer. This classification does not indicate the level of risk associated with exposure.
Infographics of some recent classifications
IARC Monographs evaluation of the carcinogenicity of talc and acrylonitrile
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IARC Monographs Programme website
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