Eubanks M
Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Jan;102(1):50-3, 56. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9410250.
There are approximately 500,000 cancer-related deaths annually in the United States. Scientists believe as that many as 80% of those deaths could be prevented due to the fact that most malignancies are a result of external factors rather than inherent biological conditions. With recent advances in molecular biology, a new field that combines highly sensitive and specific techniques for detecting early damage associated with cancer has emerged. By combining knowledge about external factors related to lifestyle and environmental or occupational exposure to chemicals with knowledge of how genetic differences cause variations in human responses to environmental pollutants, scientists are developing a better understanding of questions such as why some smokers get cancer but others do not, why certain groups of people have a higher incidence of cancer after exposure to a toxicant and others do not, and why certain women are more prone to develop breast cancer than others. Scientists using biomarkers of susceptibility will be able to identify risks and prevent adverse health effects through prevention and intervention strategies.
在美国，每年约有50万人死于癌症相关疾病。科学家们认为，这些死亡中多达80%是可以预防的，因为大多数恶性肿瘤是外部因素而非内在生物学条件导致的。随着分子生物学的最新进展，一个结合了用于检测与癌症相关早期损伤的高灵敏度和特异性技术的新领域应运而生。通过将与生活方式以及环境或职业接触化学物质相关的外部因素知识，与基因差异如何导致人类对环境污染物反应差异的知识相结合，科学家们对一些问题有了更深入的理解，比如为什么有些吸烟者会患癌症而有些不会，为什么某些人群接触毒物后患癌几率更高而其他人群不会，以及为什么某些女性比其他女性更容易患乳腺癌。使用易感性生物标志物的科学家将能够识别风险，并通过预防和干预策略防止不良健康影响。
