Nineteen of the fifty codes were further screened for their ability to provide information to decision makers. The review does not recommend any particular software package but provides a user friendly synopsis of the general capabilities of the codes. Both models help relate experimental animal data to human exposure. LMS models are most often used to extrapolate results from animal studies that used high doses of a chemical to lower-dosed human exposures. In so far as possible, LMS models quantify human cancer risk.
LMS models result in a linear response to chemical dosage.
Meaning, cancer risk increases in proportion with chemical dose. For some chemicals, LMS models are not appropriate for estimating the potential of cancer. This is particularly true for low dose effects, where PBPK models can be more enlightening. These models are often more informative than LMS models for low dose effects, largely because they are calibrated to explore changes at cellular level, as opposed to pathologic events. By Karen Obenshain, Tulane University Medical Center Risk assessment plays a key role in site cleanup decisions and multimedia models are beneficial tools.