Evidence-Based Toxicology

Evidence-based toxicology (EBT) was introduced independently by two groups in 2005, in the context of toxicological risk assessment and causation as well as based on parallels between the evaluation of test methods in toxicology and evidence-based assessment of diagnostics tests in medicine. The role model of evidence-based medicine (EBM) motivated both proposals and guided the evolution of EBT, whereas especially systematic reviews and evidence quality assessment attract considerable attention in toxicology. Regarding test assessment, in the search of solutions for various problems related to validation, such as the imperfectness of the reference standard or the challenge to comprehensively evaluate tests, the field of Diagnostic Test Assessment (DTA) was identified as a potential resource. DTA being an EBM discipline, test method assessment/validation therefore became one of the main drivers spurring the development of EBT. In the context of pathway-based toxicology, EBT approaches, given their objectivity, transparency and consistency, have been proposed to be used for carrying out a (retrospective) mechanistic validation. In summary, implementation of more evidence-based approaches may provide the tools necessary to adapt the assessment/validation of toxicological test methods and testing strategies to face the challenges of toxicology in the twenty first century.