Title of article :
Fifty Years of Research and One Conclusion: Opium Causes Cancer
Author/Authors :
Sheikh, Mahdi Genetic Epidemiology Group - Section of Genetics - International Agency for Research on Cancer - World Health Organization - Lyon - France , Kamangar, Farin Department of Biology - School of Computer - Mathematical - and Natural Sciences - Morgan State University - Baltimore - MD - United States , Malekzadeh, Reza Digestive Oncology Research Center - Digestive Diseases Research Institute - Tehran University of Medical Sciences - Tehran - Iran
Abstract :
In September 2020, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that opium consumption causes cancer in humans – a conclusion drawn after reviewing data from five decades of research. Given the widespread use of opium and its derivatives by millions of people across the world, the classification of opium consumption as a “Group 1” carcinogen has important public health ramifications. In this mini-review, we offer a short history of opium use in humans and briefly review the body of research that led to the classification of opium consumption as carcinogenic. We also discuss possible mechanisms of opium’s carcinogenicity and potential avenues for future research.
Keywords:
Keywords :
Carcinogen , Case-control studies , Cohort studies , Neoplasm , Opiate , Opioids
Journal title :
Archives of Iranian Medicine
