International Agency for Research on Cancer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids International Agency for Research on Cancer / Centre international de recherche sur le cancer
Org type	Agency
Status	Active
Headquarters	Lyon, France
Website	www.iarc.who.int

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; French: Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, CIRC) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also collects and publishes surveillance data regarding the occurrence of cancer worldwide.

Its IARC monographs programme identifies carcinogenic hazards and evaluates environmental causes of cancer in humans.

IARC has its own governing council, and in 1965 the first members were West Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Today, IARC's membership has grown to 27 countries.

History

Exterior of the main building of the headquarters for the International Agency of Research on Cancer

In late February 1963, after he experienced his spouse suffering and dying of cancer, journalist and peace activist Yves Poggioli sent a letter to Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vignerie relating his story, and urging support for the creation of an international center to fight against cancer, whose funding where to be directly debited from the national budgets allocated to nuclear weaponry. Touched by the letter, d'Astier assembled a group of French prominent figures, among which Pierre Auger, Francis Perrin, Jean Hyppolite, François Perroux, Pierre Massé, Louis Armand, François Bloch-Lainé [fr], Jean Rostand, François Mauriac, Antoine Lacassagne, Ambroise-Marie Carré and Le Corbusier, to reach for French president Charles de Gaulle in national newspaper Le Monde on the 8 November 1963. de Gaulle answered positively to the call and reached for the World Health Organization director Marcolino Gomes Candau on the 11 November. The project rapidly gained momentum, and IARC was created on 20 May 1965, by a resolution of the World Health Assembly, as the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization. The Agency's headquarters building was provided by its host in Lyon, France.

The first IARC Director was John Higginson (1966–1981), who was followed by Lorenzo Tomatis (1982–1993), Paul Kleihues (1994–2003), Peter Boyle (2004–2008), Christopher Wild (2009–2018) and Elisabete Weiderpass (2019–present).

Monographs

In 1970, after IARC received numerous requests for lists of known and suspected human carcinogens, its advisory committee recommended that expert groups prepare a compendium on carcinogenic chemicals, which began publishing the IARC Monographs series with this aim in mind.

IARC identifies carcinogenic hazards based on qualitative assessment of animal and human evidence. The IARC Working Groups classify agents, mixtures and exposures into one of five categories. The categorization is a matter of scientific judgement that reflects the strength of evidence derived from studies in humans, experimental animals and other relevant data. The classification is based only on the strength of evidence for carcinogenicity, not on the relative increase of cancer risk due to exposure, or on the amount of agent exposure necessary to cause cancer.

• Group 1: The agent is carcinogenic to humans.

There is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. The determination is usually based on epidemiological studies on humans, but can also be based on sufficient evidence in experimental animals and strong evidence in exposed humans that the agent acts through a relevant mechanism of carcinogenicity. Examples of agents classified as Group 1 include tobacco smoke, alcoholic beverages, Chinese-style salted fish and consumption of processed meat.

• Group 2A: The agent is probably carcinogenic to humans.

There is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence in experimental animals. Occasionally, an agent (or mixture) may be classified here when there is inadequate evidence in humans but sufficient evidence in experimental animals and strong evidence that the carcinogenesis is mediated by a mechanism that also operates in humans. Exceptionally, an agent (or mixture) may solely be classified under this category if there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, but if it clearly belongs to this category based on mechanistic considerations. Examples of agents classified as Group 2A include emissions from high-temperature frying of food, the occupational exposures as a hairdresser or barber, consumption of red meat and night shift work .

• Group 2B: The agent is possibly carcinogenic to humans.

There is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and less than sufficient evidence in experimental animals. It may also be used if there is inadequate evidence in humans but sufficient evidence in experimental animals. Occasionally, an agent (or mixture) may be placed in group 2B if there is inadequate evidence in humans and less than sufficient evidence in experimental animals but there is supporting evidence of carcinogenicity from mechanistic and other relevant data. An agent or a mixture may also be classified in this category solely on the basis of strong evidence of carcinogenicity from mechanistic and other relevant data. Examples of agents classified as Group 2B include occupational exposures in working in the textile manufacturing industry, printing processes, traditional Asian pickled vegetables, and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

• Group 3: The agent is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.

The evidence is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. Exceptionally, agents (or mixtures) where evidence is inadequate in humans but sufficient in experimental animals may be placed in this category only if there is strong evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in experimental animals does not operate in humans.

Substances that do not fall into any other group are placed in this category. This is not a determination of non-carcinogenicity or overall safety. It means that further research is needed, especially when exposures are widespread or the cancer data are consistent with differing interpretations.

As of August 2019, roughly 50% of all substances analyzed by IARC fall into this category.

• Group 4: The agent is probably not carcinogenic to humans.

There is evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in humans and in experimental animals. In some instances, agents or mixtures for which there is inadequate evidence in humans but evidence suggesting lack of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, consistently and strongly supported by a broad range of mechanistic and other relevant data may be classified group 4. As of 2018, only caprolactam falls under this category.

Members

The five founding states were the US, France, Italy, West Germany and the UK.

They were later joined by 21 other members, of which 3 left:

See also

• Air pollution
• European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
• European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
• Genotoxic
• Mutagen
• National Cancer Institute (US)
• Toxicology