NTP Handbook Outlines Best Practices for Evaluating Carcinogens
In June, the National Toxicology Program published an update to the Handbook on Methods for Conducting Cancer Hazard Evaluations, a document detailing the program’s processes for identifying chemicals and exposures that may pose risks of cancer to humans. The handbook provides a set of tools, approaches, resources, and guidance that reflect scientific best practices on evaluating potential carcinogens, NTP’s website states.
According to Environmental Factor, the online newsletter of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the handbook explains how NTP systematically reviews scientific literature to select substances for inclusion in the Report on Carcinogens (RoC), a list of substances known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer. The handbook was last updated in 2015, whereas the 15th version of the RoC was published in 2021. Environmental Factor adds that the updated handbook discusses improved methods of incorporating evidence, such as mechanistic studies, which examine how substances cause cellular and molecular changes that may cause cancer. The handbook also addresses changes in RoC monographs, the reports used to recommend substances for inclusion in the RoC.
The handbook serves multiple audiences, NTP explains. Scientific researchers may use it to evaluate the rigor of cancer hazard assessments in RoC monographs or to conduct their own cancer hazard assessments. Chemical producers and industry stakeholders may use it to understand the processes used to designate their products as potential carcinogens. “The largest beneficiary of the Handbook, however,” NTP states, “are members of the public who seek transparency and confidence in the process to determine if substances or environmental exposures may cause cancer.”
“People don't want us just to say, ‘this causes cancer’—they want to see that our assessments meet the most rigorous standards,” said Suril Mehta, DrPH, an epidemiologist who conducts cancer hazard evaluations for NTP’s RoC Group. “The Handbook guides that rigor and also communicates it broadly.”
The handbook may be downloaded as a PDF from NTP’s website. More information is available from Environmental Factor.
