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Unlikely risk
One-click glossary
about this glossary tool
'Unlikely risk of cancer' includes situations in which there is exposure to an agent that may be carcinogenic (not yet established) or where there is little evidence to suggest the agent is carcinogenic. There is also inadequate evidence that the method of exposure would be likely to cause cancer.
| Situation |
Consuming artificial sweeteners (apart from aspartame)
|
| Exposure |
Diabetics; consumers of ‘diet’ drinks and food
|
| Carcinogen |
Saccharin
Cyclamate
|
| Principal route of exposure | Oral |
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Bladder; possibly other sites
|
| Comment |
Epidemiological data discount concerns arising from animal studies.
|
| Situation |
Coffee drinking
|
| Exposure |
Adult population who consume coffee
|
| Carcinogen |
No specific component of coffee clearly implicated.
|
| Principal route of exposure | Ingestion |
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Urinary bladder,
pancreas, stomach
|
| Comment |
Multiple studies indicating lack of carcinogenic risk
|
| Situation |
Using deodorants
|
| Exposure |
Consumers of the product
|
| Carcinogen |
Alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid
|
| Principal route of exposure |
Dermal
|
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Breast
|
| Comment |
Some studies indicating lack of risk; lack of risk inferred from other data
|
| Situation |
Drinking fluoridated water
|
| Exposure |
Whole population in particular regions
|
| Carcinogen |
Sodium fluoride
|
| Principal route of exposure |
Ingestion
|
| Target organ (or tumour type) | Bone |
| Comment |
Marked body of evidence indicating lack of risk
|
| Situation |
Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields
|
| Exposure |
Electricity workers
|
| Carcinogen |
Electromagnetic fields
|
| Principal route of exposure | Irradiation |
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Leukaemia, breast, brain
|
| Comment |
No consistent evidence of risk despite unequivocal evidence of exposure.
|
| Situation |
Breast implants causing breast or other cancer
|
| Exposure |
Women with breast implants
|
| Carcinogen |
Foreign body (silicone implant)
|
| Principal route of exposure |
Intramuscular or intraglandular
|
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Breast
|
| Comment |
Multiple studies indicating lack of evident risk
|
| Situation |
Dental fillings
|
| Exposure |
Most of the population
|
| Carcinogen |
Dental amalgam
|
| Principal route of exposure |
Ingestion, intradental
|
| Target organ (or tumour type) |
Oral cavity and possibly other sites
|
| Comment |
Evidence of lack of risk
|
This information is based on peer review research published in the journal: B.W. Stewart, Banding carcinogenic risks in developed countries: A procedural basis for qualitative assessment, Mutat. Res.: Rev. Mutat. Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.mrrev.2007.11.007.
This page was last updated on: Monday, November 9, 2015
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