Aneuploidy and health risk assessment: Current status and future directions

Abstract

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently sponsored a workshop† to discuss (1) the contribution of aneuploidy to human disease and disability, (2) the development of tests for detecting chemicals that induce aneuploidy and the relevance of these tests to human risk, and (3) the current understanding of mechanisms by which aneuploidy arises. This summary is based on the presentations given at the workshop. It is hoped that this summary will stimulate thinking in this vitally important area of risk assessment and contribute to the establishment of priorities for basic research, development of new test methods, and validation of existing test approaches. Such research is needed to enhance the scientific basis of risk assessment for aneuploidy‐producing chemicals.