对与三卤甲烷（THMs）相关的癌症风险的流行病学评估始于20世纪70年代，部分原因是观察到实验啮齿类动物暴露于高水平氯仿时会产生肿瘤。自从最初在处理过的水中发现氯仿和其他三卤甲烷以来，已经确定了数百种其他卤化化学物质。在地理和时间上都不同的混合物中存在如此大量的化学品，这对风险评估构成了重大挑战。这些化合物之间可能的协同和拮抗作用也不清楚。在这种情况下，流行病学数据对于评估接触消毒副产品的混合物是否会造成健康风险，以及如果是，剂量的性质是有价值的- 反应关系。本文概述了接触氯化副产物人群癌症发病率的流行病学研究。

Epidemiologic assessment of the cancer risk associated with trihalomethanes (THMs) began in the 1970s, motivated in part by the observation that tumors were produced when experimental rodent species were exposed to high levels of chloroform. Since the original discovery of chloroform and other THMs in treated waters, hundreds of other halogenated chemical species have been identified. The presence of such a large number of chemicals in a mixture that varies geographically and temporally poses a major challenge for risk assessment. Possible synergistic and antagonistic effects among these compounds are also not well understood. In this setting, epidemiologic data can be valuable for evaluating whether exposure to a mixture of disinfection byproducts poses a health risk, and if so, the nature of the dose-response relationship. This paper provides a summary of epidemiologic studies of the incidence of cancer in populations exposed to chlorination byproducts.