Molecular epidemiology in cancer risk assessment

The rapid development of molecular biology techniques has significantly aided the assessment of the detrimental consequences of chemically polluted environment on humans. it has also resulted in the development of molecular epidemiology, a new branch of epidemiology. Molecular epidemiology has become an important science which finds increasing applications in environmental monitoring. Nevertheless, a number of problems have emerged which seriously limit its practical application in epidemiologic research. Correct interpretation of test results seems to be one of the most difficult stages of assessing, by means of molecular epidemiology techniques, exposures to environmental pollutants and the resultant health effects. This refers in particular to those instances of the assessment of exposures (to environmental carcinogens for instance) for which formal exposure limits are not available. In many instances, molecular epidemiology tests are performed only because specified methods are available, but in many cases the results fail to provide any useful information. Also, the implementation of these new research methods has given rise to completely new ethical, social and legal problems. This is particularly true about research on the individual susceptibility to the adverse effects of environmental chemicals. And finally, it is extremely important to ensure that the enthusiasm about the feasibility of using the most recent molecular biology technologies does not overshadow the epidemiological problems associated with the necessity of providing suitable health care to the inhabitants of chemically polluted areas.