Veterinary drugs no longer need testing for carcinogenicity in rodent bioassays.

Abstract

The putative carcinogenic risk to humans from ingestion of edible tissues containing traces of nongenotoxic veterinary drugs is so slight that the routine application of rodent cancer bioassays cannot be justified. This argument is based, first, on the pharmacological similarity of veterinary and human drugs: many of the latter that are carcinogenic to rodents have been deemed on mechanistic and/or potency grounds not to pose a cancer risk to humans. Second, the distribution of a veterinary drug through the target animal body before ingestion of a portion of edible tissue by humans days or weeks later means that the human dose from a residue is several orders of magnitude lower than the normal dose of human drugs. The dose of residue is also much lower than the exposure of humans to the most potent carcinogens.

• Authors: D M Galer, A M Monro
• Journal: Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP (Regul Toxicol Pharmacol) Vol. 28 Issue 2 Pg. 115-23 (Oct 1998) ISSN: 0273-2300 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 9927561 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Chemical References

• Veterinary Drugs

Topics

• Animals
• Carcinogenicity Tests
• Drug Residues (analysis, toxicity)
• Food Contamination (prevention & control)
• Guidelines as Topic
• Humans
• Occupational Exposure (adverse effects)
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Risk Assessment (methods)
• Statistics as Topic
• Veterinary Drugs (toxicity)