Skip to main content

Toxicological Procedures for Assessing the Carcinogenic Potential of Agricultural Chemicals

  • Chapter
Genetic Toxicology

Part of the book series: Basic Life Sciences ((BLSC,volume 6))

Abstract

Pesticides and other agricultural chemicals are now widely used throughout the world as a means of improving crop yields in order to meet the increasing demands being placed upon the global food supply. In Canada, the use of such chemicals is controlled through government regulations established jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of National Health & Welfare. Such regulations require a detailed evaluation of the toxicological characteristics of the chemical prior to its being cleared for use. In this paper, procedures for assessing the carcinogenic potential of agricultural and other chemicals are discussed. Consideration is given to both the classical long-term in vivo carcinogen bioassay in rodent or other species and the more recently developed short-term in vitro tests based on genetic alterations in bacterial and other test systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ames. B.N. (1977). Environmental chemicals causing cancer and genetic birth defects: Developing a strategy for minimizing human exposure. California Policy Seminar Monographs, Vol. 3, pp. 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Ames, B.N., Durston, W.E., Yamasaki, E. & Lee, F.D. (1973a). Carcinogens are mutagens - A simple test system combining liver homogenates for activation and bacteria for detection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 70, 2281–2285.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ames, B.N., Lee, F.D. & Durston, W.E. (1973b). An improved bacterial test system for the detection and classification of mutagens and carcinogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 70, 782–786.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ames, B.N., Hooper, K., Sawyer, C.B., Friedman, A.D., Peto, R., Havender, W., Gold, L.S. & Haggin, T. (1980). Carcinogenic potency: A progress report. In: Banbury Report 5. Ethylenedibromide: A Potential Health Risk. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, pp. 55–63.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Anderson, M.W., Hoel, D.G. & Kaplan, N.L. (1980). A general scheme for the incorporation of pharmacokinetics in low-dose risk estimation for chemical carcinogenesis: Example - vinyl chloride. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 55, 154–161.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Arnold, D.L., Charbonneau, S.M., Zawidzka, Z.Z. & Grice, H.C. (1977). Monitoring animal health during chronic toxicity studies. Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology 1, 227–239.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. ASPET: American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (1980). Extrapolation of laboratory toxicity and data to man: factors influencing the dose-toxic response relationship. Federation Proceedings 39, 53–82.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bernstein, L., Kaldor, J., McCann, J. & Pike, M.C. (1981). An empirical approach to the statistical analysis of mutagenesis data from the Salmonella Test. Mutation Research. In press.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Brookes, P. (1981). Critical assessment of the value of in vivo cell transformation for predicting in vivo carcinogenicity of chemicals. ICPEMC Working Paper 2/4. Mutation Research 86, 233–242.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Burdette, W.J. (1955). The significance of mutation in relation to the origin of tumors: A review. Cancer Research 15, 201–226.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Campbell, T.C. (1980). Chemical carcinogens and human risk assessment. Federation Proceedings 39, 2467–2484.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Clayson, D.B. & Garner, R.C. (1976). Carcinogenic aromatic amines and related compounds. In: Chemical Carcinogens (C.E. Searle, ed.). American Chemical Society Monograph No. 173, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., pp. 366–461.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Clayson, D.B. (1980). Comparison between in vitro and in vivo tests for carcinogenicity: An overview. ICPEMC Working Paper 2/1. Mutation Research 75, 205–218.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Clayson, D.B. (1981a). Carcinogenesis in the developing organism: Could protocols for testing be improved? Biological Research in Pregnancy. In Press.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Clayson, D.B. (1981b). Carcinogens and carcinogenesis enhancers. ICPEMC Working Paper 2/3. Mutation Research 86, 217–229.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Committee of the Health Council of the Netherlands (1978). The Evaluation of the Carcinogenicity of Chemical Substances. Ministerie van Volksgezond held en Milieu hygiene, Leidschendam.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Crouch, E. & Wilson, R. (1981). Regulation of carcinogens. Risk Analysis 1, 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Crump, K.S., Hoel, D.G., Langley, C.H., Peto, R. (1976). Fundamental carcinogenic processes and their implications for low dose risk assessment. Cancer Research 36, 2973–2979.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Crump, K.S., Guess, H. & Deal, K. (1977). Confidence intervals and test of hypotheses concerning dose response relations inferred from animal carcinogenicity data. Biometrics 33, 437–445.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Daffer, P.Z., Crump, K.S. & Masterman, M.D. (1980). Asymptotic theory for analyzing dose-response survival data with application to the low-dose extrapolation problem. Mathematical Biosciences 50, 207–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. de Serres, F.J. & Ashby, J. (1981). “Evaluation of Short-Term Tests for Carcinogens”. Elsevier-North Holland/Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Elashoff, R., Preston, D. & Fears, T. (1979). Comparison and evaluation of some experimental designs for use in carcinogen screening. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 62, 1209–1219.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Fears, T., Tarone, R.E. & Chu, K.C. (1977). False-positive and false-negative rates for carcinogenicity screens. Cancer Research 37, 1941–1945.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. FSC: Food Safety Council (1980). Proposed System for Food Safety Assessment. Food Safety Council, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Fox, J.G., Thibert, P., Arnold, D.L., Krewski, D.R. & Grice, H.C. (1979). Toxicology studies II. The laboratory animal. Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 17, 661–675.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Gabridge, M.G. & Legator, M.S. (1969). A host-mediated microbial assay for the detection of mutagenic compounds. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, 130, 831–834.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Garner, R.C., Miller, E.C. & Miller, J.A. (1972). Liver microsomal metabolism of aflatoxin B, to a reactive derivative toxic to Salmonella typhimurium TA 1530. Cancer Research 32, 2058–2066.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Gart, J.J., Chu, K.C., Tarone, R.E. (1979). Statistical issues in interpretation of chronic bioassay tests for carclnogenicity. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 62, 957–974.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Gehring, P.J., Watanabe, P.G. & Blau, G.E. (1976). Pharmacokinetic studies in evaluation of the toxicological and environmental hazard of chemicals. In: Advances in Modern Toxicology, Vol. 1, Part 1. New Concepts in Safety Evaluation. ( M.A. Mehlman, R.E. Shapiro & H. Blumenthal, eds.), Hemisphere Publishing, Nèw York, pp. 195–270.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Gehring, P.J., Watanabe, P.G. & Park, C.N. (1978). Resolution of dose-response toxicity data for chemicals requiring metabolic activation: Example-vinyl chloride. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 44, 581–591.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Grlesmer, R.A. & Cueto, C. (1980). Toward a classification scheme for degrees of experimental evidence for the carcinogenicity of chemicals for animals. In: Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Carcinogen Screening Tests. (R. Montesano, H. Bartsch & L. Tomatis, eds.). IARC Scientific Publication No. 27, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, pp. 259–281.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Grice, H.C., Munro, I.C., Krewski, D.R. & Blumenthal, H. (1981). In utero exposure in chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity studies. Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 19, 373–379.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Hartley, H.O. & Sielken, R.L. (1977). Estimation of “safe doses” in carcinogenic experiments. Biometrics 33, 1–30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Hartley, H.O., Tolley, H.D. & Sielken, R.L. (1981). The product form of the hazard rate model in carcinogenic testing. In: Statistics and Related Topics ( M. Csorgo, D. Dawson, J.N.K. Rao and E. Saleh, eds.), North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 185–200.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Haseman, J.K. (1978). Exact sample sizes for use with the Fisher-Irwin test for 2x2 Tables. Biometrics 34, 106–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Hoel, D.G. (1980). Incorporation of background response in dose-response models. Federation Proceedings 39, 73–75.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Hoffmann, G.R. (1982). Overview of genetic toxicology. This volume.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Hollstein, M. & McCann, J. (1979). Short-term tests for carcinogens and mutagens. Mutation Research 65, 133–226.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Huberman, E. & Sachs, L. (1976). Mutability of different genetic loci in mammalian cells by metabolically activated carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 173, 188–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. IARC: International Agency for Research in Cancer (1980a). Long-term and Short-term Screening Assays for Carcinogens; A Critical Appraisal. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans, Supplement 2, IARC, Lyon.

    Google Scholar 

  41. IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer (1980b). An evaluation of chemicals and industrial processes associated with cancer in humans based on human and animal data: IARC monographs, Vol. 1 to 20. Cancer Research 40, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Irr, J.D. & Snee, R.D. (1980). Statistical evaluation of mutagenicity in the CHO/HGPRT system, ln Banbury Report 2 Mammalian Cell Mutagenesis. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, pp. 263–275.

    Google Scholar 

  43. IRLG: Interagency Regulatory Liaison Group (1979). Scientific basis for identification of potential carcinogens and estimation of risks. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 63, 241–268.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Jones, C.A., Marlino, P.J., Lijinsky, W. & Huberman, E. (1981). The relationship between the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of nitrosamines in a hepatocyte mediated mutagenicity assay carcinogenesis. In press.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Kendall, M.G. & Stuart, A. (1967). The Advanced Theory of Statistics (Vol. 2, Second edition ). Hafner, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Kretzer, H., Habs, M. & SchmShl, D. (1979). Limitations of in vitro short-term tests as prescreening models for carcinogenicity in Industry: a theoretical approach. Toxicology 14, 283–289.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Krewski, D.R. & Van Ryzin. J. (1981). Dose response models for quantal response toxicity data. In: Statistics and Related Topics (M. Csorgo, D. Dawson, J.N.K. Rao & E. Saleh, eds.), North Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 201–231.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Krewski, D. & Brown, C. (1981). Carcinogenic risk assessment: A guide to the literature Biometrics 37, 353–366.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Langenbach, R., Freed, H.J., Raveh, D. & Huberman, E. (1978a). Liver cell-mediated mutagenesis of mammalian cells by liver carcinogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 75, 2864–2867.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Langenbach, R., Freed, H.G., Raveh, D., & Huberman, E. (1978b). Cell specificity in metabolic activation of aflatoxln B, and benzo(a)pyrene to mutagens for mammalian cells. Nature 276, 277–280.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Langenbach, R., Gingell, R., Kuszynski, C., Walker, B., Hagel, D. & Pour, P. (1980). Mutagenic activities of oxidized derivatives of N-nitroso-dipropylamine in the liver “cell- mediated” and Salmonella typhimurium assays. Cancer Research 40, 3463–3467.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Langenbach, R., Malick, L. & Nesnow, S. (1981). Rat bladder cell-mediated mutagenesis of Chinese-hamster V79 cells and metabolism of benzo(a)pyrene. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 66, 913–917.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Littlefield, N.A., Farmer, J.H., Gaylor, D.W. & Sheldon, W.G. (1979). Effects of dose and time in a long-term, low-dose carcinogenic study. Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology 3, 17–34.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Mailing, H.V. (1971). Dimethylnitrosamine: Formation of mutagenic compounds by interaction with mouse liver microsomes. Mutation Research 13, 425–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Margolin, B.H., Kaplan, H. & Zeiger, E. (1981). Statistical analysis of the Ames Salmonella/mlcrosome test. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 78, 3779–3783.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Miller, J.A. (1970). Carcinogenesis by chemicals: An overview. ( G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Lecture) Cancer Research 30, 559–576.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Miller, E.C. (1978). Some current perspectives on chemical carcinogenesis in humans and experimental animals: President’s address. Cancer Research 38, 1479–1496.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Miller, E.C. & Miller, J.A. (1976). The metabolism of chemical carcinogens to reactive electrophlles and their possible mechanisms of action in carcinogenesis. In: Chemical Carcinogens (C.E. Searle, ed.). American Chemical Society Monograph No. 173, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., pp. 737–762.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Munro, I.C. (1977). Considerations in chronic toxicity teeting: the chemical, the dose, the design. Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology 1, 183–197.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Munro, I.C. & Krewskl, D.R. (1981). Risk assessment and regulatory decision making. Food & Cosmetics Toxicology 19, 541–560.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Myers, L.E., Sexton, N.H., Southerland, L.I. Wolff, T.J. (1981). Regression analysis of Ames test data. Environmental Mutagenesis 5, 575–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. NAS: National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences (1981). The Health Effects on Nitrate, Nitrite and N-Nitroso Compounds (Part 1). National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  63. OTA: Office of Technology Assessment (1981). Assessment of Technologies for Determining Cancer Risks from the Environment. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Peto, R. (1978). Carcinogenic effects of chronic exposure to very low levels of toxic substances. Environmental Health Perspectives 22, 155–159.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Pienta, R.J., Poiley, J.A. & Lebherz, W.B. (1977). Morphological transformation of early passage Golden Syrian hamster embryo cells derived from cryopreserved primary cultures as a reliable in vitro bioassay for identifying diverse carcinogens. International Journal of Cancer 19, 642–655.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Pienta, R.J. (1979). A hamster embryo cell model system for identifying carcinogens. In: Carcinogens: Identification and Mechanisms of Action ( A.C. Griffin & G.R. Shaw, eds.). Raven Press, New York, pp. 121–141.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Purchase, I.F.H. (1982). An appraisal of predictive tests for carcinogenicity. In preparation.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Purchase, I.F.H., Longstaff, E., Ashby, J., Styles, J.A., Anderson, D., Lefevre, P.A., & Westwood, F.R. (1978). An evaluation of 6 short-term tests for detecting organic chemical carcinogens. British Journal of Cancer 37, 873–959.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Rinkus, S.J. & Legator, M.S. (1979). Chemical characterization of 465 known or suspected carcinogens and their correlation with mutagenic activity in the Salmonella typhimurium system. Cancer Research 39, 3289–3318.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Rosenkranz, H.S. & Leifer, Z. (1979). Determining the DNA- modifying activity of chemicals using DNA-polymerase-deficient Eichenicia coli. In: Chemical Mutagens: Principles and Procedures for Their Detection, Vol. 6. (A. Hollaender & F. de Serres, eds.). Plenum Press, New York, pp.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Rosenkranz, H.S., Karpinsky, G. & McCoy, E.C. (1980). Microbial assays: Evaluation and application to the elucidation of the etiology of colon cancer. In: Short-Term Test Systems for Detecting Carcinogens. ( K.H. Norpoth & R.C. Garner, eds.). Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 19–57.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  72. Salsburg, D.S. (1977). Use of statistics when examining lifetime studies in rodents to detect carcinogenicity. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 3, 611–628.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Schmshl, D., Habs, M. & Ivankovic, S. (1978). Carcinogenesis of N-nitrosodiethylamine ( DENA) in chickens and domestic cats. International Journal of Cancer 22, 552–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Shank, R.C. & Barrows, L.R. (1981). Toxicity-dependent DNA methylatlon: Significance to risk assessment In: Health Risk Analysis (C.R. Richmond, P.J. Walsh & E.D. Copenhaver, eds.). Franklin Institute Press, Philadelphia, pp. 225–233.

    Google Scholar 

  75. Sielken, R.L. (1981). Re-examination of the EDQ, study: risk assessment using time. Fundamental and Applied Toxicology 1, 88–123.

    Google Scholar 

  76. Snee, R.D. & Irr, J.D. (1981). Design of a statistical method for analysis of mutagenesis of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase locus of cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mutation Research 85, 77–93.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Sontag, J.M., Page, N.P. & Saffiotti, U. (1976). Guidelines for carcinogen bioassay in small rodents. National Cancer Institute Carcinogenesis Technical Report Series (NIC-CG-TR- 1 ), U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare, Public Health Service, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  78. Sontag, J.M. (1977). Aspects in carcinogen bioassay. In: Origins of Human Cancer Book C: Human Risk Assessment. ( H.H. Hiatt, J.D. Watson & J.A. Winsten eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, pp. 1327–1338.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Stead, A.G., Hasselblad, V., Creason, J.P. & Claxton, L. (1981). Modeling the Ames Test. Mutation Research 85, 13–27.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Takeishi, K., Okuno-Kaneda, S. & Seno, T. (1979). Mutagenic activation of 2-acetylaminofluorene by guinea-pig liver homogenates: Essential involvement of cytochrome p450 mixed- function oxidases. Mutation Research 62, 425–437.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Truhaut, R. (1979). An overview of the problem of thresholds for chemical carcinogens. In: Carcinogenic Risks/Strategies for Intervention (W. Davis & C. Rosenfeld, eds.), IARC Scientific Publication No. 25, IARC, Lyon, pp. 191–202.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Van Ryzin, J. (1980). Quantitative risk assessment. Journal of Occupational Medicine 22, 321–326.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  83. Weisburger, J.H. & Williams, G.M. (1981). Carcinogen testing: Current problems and new approaches. Science 214, 401–407.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. WHO: World Health Organization (1961). Principles governing consumer safety in relation to pesticide residues. Technical Report No. 240, WHO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  85. Wright, A.S. (1981). The role of metabolism in chemical mutagenesis and chemical carcinogenesis. ICPEMC Working Paper 2/2. Mutation Research 75, 215–241.

    Google Scholar 

  86. Yahagi, T., Nagao, M., Seino, Y., Matsushima, T., Suglmura, T. & Okada, M. (1977). Mutagenicities of N-nitrosamines on Salmonella. Mutation Research 48, 121–129.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  87. Yamagiwa, K. & Ichikawa, K. (1918). Experimental study of the pathogenesis of carcinoma. Journal of Cancer Research 3, 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  88. Yamanaka, H., Nagao, M., Suglmura, T., Furuya, T., Shirai, A. & Matsushima, T. (1979). Mutagenicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the Salmonella mammalian-microsome test. Mutation Research 68, 211–216.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1982 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Krewski, D., Clayson, D., Collins, B., Munro, I.C. (1982). Toxicological Procedures for Assessing the Carcinogenic Potential of Agricultural Chemicals. In: Fleck, R.A., Hollaender, A. (eds) Genetic Toxicology. Basic Life Sciences, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4352-3_32

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4352-3_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4354-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4352-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics