What Stressors Cause Cancer and When?
Translational biomedical research seeks to move laboratory findings based on models (in silico, in vitro, and in vivo) into human clinical trials to more expeditiously develop specific therapeutics, and then back again to the laboratory to inform future discovery. This chapter promotes the elucidation of cell stage, life stage, and lifestyle knowledge of specific cellular and molecular targets of known developmental toxicants, develops a systematic integrated approach to the identification of mutagenic and reproductive toxicants. It discusses sensitive, specific, and predictive animal models, to include minimally invasive surrogate markers, and/or in vitro tests to assess reproductive system function during embryonic, postnatal, and adult life. The chapter argues that integrated testing strategies will be required to account for the many mechanisms associated with development that occur in vivo. It considers how exposures that incur risk or other exposures/ life events that may reduce risk during particular windows of susceptibility/ developmental transitions, and thereby impact cancer occurrence.
