International Agency for Research on Cancer

International Agency for Research on Cancer

International Agency for Research on Cancer
Exterior of the main building of the headquarters for the International Agency of Research on Cancer
Abbreviation	IARC, CIRC
Formation	20 May 1965 (1965-05-20)
Type	Agency
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Lyon, France
Head	Christopher Wild (director)
Parent organization	World Health Organization
Website	www.iarc.fr

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; French: Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, CIRC) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations.

Its main offices are in Lyon, France. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also collects and publishes surveillance data regarding the occurrence of cancer worldwide. It maintains a series of monographs on the carcinogenic risks to humans posed by a variety of agents, mixtures and exposures. Following its inception, IARC received numerous requests for lists of known and suspected human carcinogens. In 1970, the IARC Advisory Committee recommended that expert groups prepare a compendium on carcinogenic chemicals, and it began publishing its monographs series with this aim in mind.

On 26 October 2015, IARC reported that consumption of processed meat (such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, sausages) was a Group 1 carcinogen, and that red meat was a Group 2A carcinogen ("probably carcinogenic to humans").

The IARC categorizes agents, mixtures and exposures into five categories. Note that the classification is based only on the strength of evidence for carcinogenicity, not on the relative increase of cancer risk due to exposure, or on the amount of exposure necessary to cause cancer. For example, a substance that only very slightly increases the likelihood of cancer and only after long-term exposure to large doses, but the evidence for that slight increase is strong, would be placed in Group 1 even though it does not pose a significant risk in normal use.

Critics of the IARC have stated that it has become susceptible to industry influence and suffers from a lack of transparency. Lorenzo Tomatis, its director from 1982 to 1993, was "barred from entering the building" in 2003 after "accusing the IARC of softpedaling the risks of industrial chemicals" in a 2002 article. In 2003 thirty public-health scientists signed a letter targeting conflicts of interest and the lack of transparency. The IARC rejected these criticisms, and there was hope that the controversy would "die down" after Paul Kleihues (Director from 1994) retired in 2004 and Peter Boyle became the new director, followed by Christopher Wild since 2009.