Carcinogenic effects of acrylamide in Sencar and A/J mice.

Acrylamide structurally resembles vinyl carbamate, a proposed proximate carcinogenic form of ethyl carbamate. To test the hypothesis that acrylamide should possess carcinogenic properties, it was tested in the Salmonella-microsome assay for point mutation, as a skin tumor initiator in the Sencar mouse, and for its ability to induce lung adenomas in the A/J mouse. Acrylamide was found to be without activity as a mutagen in Salmonella strains TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98, and TA 100 both in the presence and absence of rat liver microsomes using both the plate and liquid suspension assays. However, acrylamide was found to approximate ethyl carbamate in potency as a tumor initiator in the skin of the female Sencar mice. As with ethyl carbamate, acrylamide was more potent by systemic routes of administration relative to topical application. Acrylamide was also found to induce lung adenomas in male and female A/J mice using both the p.o. and i.p. routes of administration. Acrylamide was approximately one-seventh as potent as ethyl carbamate in the induction of lung adenomas. These data confirm the hypothesis that acrylamide possesses carcinogenic properties similar to ethyl carbamate.