Ames B N, Magaw R, Gold L S
Science. 1987 Apr 17;236(4799):271-80. doi: 10.1126/science.3563506.
This review discusses reasons why animal cancer tests cannot be used to predict absolute human risks. Such tests, however, may be used to indicate that some chemicals might be of greater concern than others. Possible hazards to humans from a variety of rodent carcinogens are ranked by an index that relates the potency of each carcinogen in rodents to the exposure in humans. This ranking suggests that carcinogenic hazards from current levels of pesticide residues or water pollution are likely to be of minimal concern relative to the background levels of natural substances, though one cannot say whether these natural exposures are likely to be of major or minor importance.
本综述讨论了动物癌症试验不能用于预测人类绝对风险的原因。然而，此类试验可用于表明某些化学物质可能比其他物质更值得关注。通过一种将每种致癌物在啮齿动物中的效力与人类接触情况相关联的指数，对各种啮齿动物致癌物对人类可能造成的危害进行了排名。该排名表明，相对于天然物质的背景水平，当前农药残留或水污染水平造成的致癌危害可能微不足道，不过无法确定这些天然接触的重要性是大还是小。
