Towards incorporating epigenetic mechanisms into carcinogen identification and evaluation

Remarkable progress in the field of epigenetics represents an exciting opportunity to incorporate these new advances into carcinogen identification and safety assessment. A comprehensive search of the Monograph Volume 100 by Dr Z. Herceg and colleagues from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) revealed that epigenetics have played a modest role in evaluating human carcinogens by the IARC Monographs so far, however epigenetic and epigenomic data might play a pivotal role in the future. We also discuss the issues related to opportunities and challenges in the application of epigenetic testing in carcinogen identification and evaluation. Although the application of epigenetic assays in carcinogen evaluation is still in its infancy, important data are being generated and valuable scientific resources are being established that should catalyze future applications of epigenetic testing.

Z Herceg, M-P Lambert, K van Veldhoven, C Demetriou, P Vineis, M T Smith, K Straif and C P Wild
Towards incorporating epigenetic mechanisms into carcinogen identification and evaluation
Carcinogenesis doi:10.1093/carcin/bgt212
Advance Access published July 13, 2013
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