GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL CANCERS

Epidemiologic evidence on the relation between genetic susceptibility and cancer is reviewed. Tradition al epidemiologic studies have identi fied various exposure-related associations with cancer. Most conventio nal approaches to environmental and occupational cancer have not been able to address specifically the issue of individual susceptibility to the action of carcinogens. However with the recent rapid advances in molecular biology, novel approaches to define the role of genetic susc eptibility in epidemiologic studies of cancer etiology have emerged, M olecular epidemiology has begun to develop within the broad field of c ancer research. Here, we provide a description of the current framewor k of this research. Ongoing studies of the associations of inheritable polymorphisms in metabolic genes with specific carcinogen exposures r eflect the most active area of research. Future efforts will include t he examination of inherited variation in DNA repair. Methods are being developed now that will allow for the application of linkage analysis to the problem of gene-environment interaction in cancer. These appro aches hold considerable promise for defining the nature of genetic sus ceptibility to exposure-related cancers.