Skip Navigation


Annals of Oncology Advance Access originally published online on October 14, 2008
Annals of Oncology 2009 20(2):205-212; doi:10.1093/annonc/mdn596
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/2/205    most recent
mdn596v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vineis, P.
Right arrow Articles by Xun, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vineis, P.
Right arrow Articles by Xun, W.
Related Collections
Right arrow 2009 - Review Articles
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

reviews

The emerging epidemic of environmental cancers in developing countries

P. Vineis* and W. Xun

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK

* Correspondence to: Prof. P. Vineis, Chair in Environmental Epidemiology, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG. Tel: 00442075943372; Fax: 00442074022150; Email: p.vineis{at}imperial.ac.uk

In overviews concerning environmental cancers, the definition of ‘environmental’ can vary considerably in terms of the list of exposures considered, due to differences in inclusion criteria, and the articles tend to focus mainly or exclusively on Western populations. International agencies such as World Health Organisation, that have had considerable success in fighting infectious diseases, seem to be weaker when considering the relevance of environmental carcinogens, particularly in developing countries, and in identifying the exposed populations. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the issue with a specific focus on developing countries. There are good reasons to believe that the burden of environmental cancers in such countries is high and has been underestimated in previous analyses. We examine the most common pollutants (aflatoxins, arsenic, air pollutants, biomass fuel and coal, polychlorinated biphenyls and wastes). A systematic review was not possible given the sparse nature of the data, but we suggest that the burden of environmental exposures to carcinogens can be substantial in developing countries.

Key words: cancer burden, developing countries, environmental risks

Received for publication June 3, 2008. Accepted for publication July 30, 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.