Government adds 17 new agents, including first viruses

The Associated Press

Updated: 5:35 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2005

WASHINGTON - The government is adding viruses for the first time to its list of
known or suspected causes of cancer, including hepatitis B and C and a third
virus that causes sexually transmitted diseases. Lead, X-rays and compounds in
grilled meats also are joining the list.

It has been known that the hepatitis viruses can cause liver cancer and that
some forms of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus can cause cervical
cancer.

But they were added to the list Monday only after officials decided to go beyond
the report’s historical focus on the occupational and environmental causes of
cancer, said Dr. Christopher Portier, associate director of the National
Toxicology Program, which prepared the latest update.

Expanded report
“We felt (the report) needed to be expanded to include other things in our
general environment that can cause cancer,” Portier said.



The list, which now identifies 246 known or suspected cancer-causing agents, is
intended to give people who may or may not be exposed to any of the substances
something to think about, he said.

Take X-rays, added to the “known” category. “This is simply to remind them that
when they are making a decision about an X-ray to think about it and talk it
over with your physician,” Portier said.

But the American College of Radiology faulted the addition of X-rays and gamma
rays, saying it was misleading and could prompt patients to avoid getting needed
care.

“X-rays and gamma rays are not substances that the general public has access or
exposure to and do not belong on a list of substances that pose a risk to people
in the course of their normal, daily lives,” Dr. James Borgstede, chairman of
the radiology college’s board of chancellors, said in a statement.

Substances from cooked meats
New to the suspected category are substances that form when meats are cooked or
grilled at high temperatures. Studies suggest an increased cancer risk when
foods containing them are eaten.

But “does that mean you have to throw out your barbecue grill?” asked Dr.
Elizabeth Whelan, a critic of the list from the American Council on Science and
Health, a consumer education group.

She said the “not consumer friendly” list should include information on the
types of exposures and dosages that cause cancer, as well as on the health
benefits of some of the substances identified, such as tamoxifen, the breast
cancer treatment pill.

Lead, used to make lead-acid storage batteries, ammunition and cable coverings,
and lead compounds, used in paint, glass and ceramics, in some cosmetics and as
a fuel additive also joined the suspect list.

Portier said other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Food and Drug Administration, are responsible for determining exposure levels,
dosages and other issues.

“We think everything on this list is, in fact, relevant to people’s daily lives
and the public health of the country,” he said.

The Report on Carcinogens — which federal law requires the health and human
services secretary to update every two years — lists 58 “known” and 188
“reasonably anticipated” cancer-causing substances.

It was prepared by the National Toxicology Program of the National Institute for
Environmental Health Sciences, and was last updated in December 2002.




Sandra Tara Balduf (Ane)

Frontline Hepatitis Awareness

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