Childhood cancer and environmental integrity: a commentary and a proposal

Abstract

Improvements in the health standards of developed and developing societies depend primarily onthe relationships between economy and environment. Recent long-term changes in the chemicalcomposition of man-made environments may be linked to changes in the biology of human beings.Here we argue that children are at the greatest risk of being affected by the dangerous effects ofthese changes, with particular reference to cancer. The concept of cancer risk must be extendedto new contexts. Considering the increasing rates of chemical pollution and its spreading inthe environment, we illustrate a proposal aiming to protect the human health, in an intra-and-intergenerational perspective. A surveillance system of occupational and residential exposuresshould be implemented to prevent cancer risk in embryos and children