A detecção de substâncias cancerígenas em estudos experimentais

Abstract

The most important currentiy available experimental tool to identify environmental Chemical carcinogens is the long-term in vivo test with rodents. Brazil doesn't have enough expertise and/or suitable facilities to run such test. Consequentiy, this country is absolutely dependent on technical knowledge generated abroad about human and environmental risks imposed by Chemical compounds. On the otherhand, several disadvantages of the long-term test, such as the complexity of its protocol, excessive time for obtaining the conclusions and cost, imply in more convenient, alternative  testing procedures. Herein, two in vivo tests with rats, more advantageous than the long-term test for massive detection of Chemical carcinogens, are presented. They are shorter running and less expensive than the conventional test. These systems have respectively only-the-liver or multiple simultaneous-organs as the targets for the carcinogenic action of the Chemical agent. Both systems were validated by testing many Chemical compounds and the results reproduced those obtained in long-term studies. The authors point the advantage o f using such testing systems in countries like Brazil and suggest their Inclusion in the sequence of procedures used to identify carcinogens among Chemicals of public relevance.