Genetic toxicology: Lessons from the past, directions for the future

Twenty‐five years after the founding of the Environmental Mutagen Society, the need to detect germinal cell mutagens remains an unfulfilled goal. Instead we embarked upon a journey to characterize carcinogens by detecting mutations in nonmammalian or in vitro assays. Genetic toxicologists, in an attempt to devise a quick efficient strategy for detecting chemical carcinogens, committed two basic errors. The first error set us off on a 25‐year quest for the definitive short‐term assay for characterizing carcinogens; the second error, derived from the first, was to focus our efforts mostly toward determining effects in somatic cells rather than also looking for chemically induced effects in germinal cells. The time is now at hand to reestablish the credibility of the field of genetic toxicology and achieve the goals of the initial founders of the society. Having realized the shortcomings of nonmammalian studies, we should devote our efforts to developing suitable germinal cell assays in animals and where possible in humans. In addition to identifying germinal cell mutagens, we should also expand our efforts to evaluate chronic low‐level exposures of human populations to potential cancer causing agents, using the rapidly developing methods of genetic biomonitoring. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.