The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization. IARC's mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer prevention and control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships. The Agency is inter-disciplinary, bringing together skills in epidemiology, laboratory sciences and biostatistics to identify the causes of cancer so that preventive measures may be adopted and the burden of disease and associated suffering reduced.
The scientific work of IARC is organized into research Sections. The Sections focus on particular areas of cancer research, while often collaborating closely on issues of common interest. Scientific staff include visiting scientists and post-doctoral students in addition to short- and long-term staff members. IARC currently has around 300 staff coming from more than 50 countries.
The Section involved in the SOLO project is the Section of Environment and Radiation (ENV), which has ample experience in conducting studies on radiation risks.