© 1999 by Oxford University Press
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 91, No. 9, 745-746,
May 5, 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press
EDITORIALS |
Dioxin Dilemmas
Correspondence to: Robert N. Hoover, M.D., Sc.D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Executive Plaza South, Rm. 8094, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Few chemicals have engendered as much public/political controversy
as the dioxins, particularly
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The scientific
base for addressing this complex issue continues to feature differences
of opinion among responsible scientists as to the quality and
interpretation of data on dioxin epidemiology, animal bioassays, and
mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Human studies, conducted over the last 20
years, have raised suspicions about dioxin exposure and risk of cancer,
but the epidemiologic dilemmas were numerous. Many of these studies
have yielded conflicting results, included few cancer cases, failed to
assess confounding, or included inappropriate comparison populations or
questionable analytic methods. Perhaps most importantly, for most of
these investigations, there was no documentation
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