Carcinogenesis from polyurethans.

Abstract

Seventeen polyurethans, containing various substituent groups, and a polyethylene were implanted i.p. in groups of male black Bethesda rats and were evaluated for carcinogenesis over a 2-year period. Thirteen of the polyurethans and the polyethylene were similarly studied in females. Tumor development in these animals was expressed in terms of the incidence in the at-risk population, and the tumorigenic latent period was approximated for each sample. Twenty months after implantation, the relative tumorigenicity (area under the corrected cumulative tumor mortality versus time curve) in the males ranged from 0 (for the unimplanted controls) to 6.18 (for Y-238); for female rats this range was 0.29 (for unimplanted controls) to 5.72 (for Y-238). Estimated latent periods in the males ranged from 5 months (for Y-304) to 16 months (for Y-303), and 22.5 months for the unimplanted controls; for the females, the range was from 9 months (for Y-290) to 13.5 months (for Y-217), and 14 months for the unimplanted controls. The relative tumorigenicity of each sample was also compared to its in vitro activation energy for thermal decomposition. These data are discussed in terms of solid-state versus chemical carcinogenesis.