ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between rodent and human renal tumors, the groups of chemicals that have induced different types of renal tumors in rodent chronic bioassays and the predictability of that information for human risk. In the diverse group of pesticides, the fungicides captofol and merpafol have induced renal tubule tumors in male rats. Representing a class of naturally occurring compounds, secondary fungal metabolites appear to have a special predilection for rodent kidney carcinogenesis. By far the most frequently occurring kidney tumor in both humans and laboratory rodents is the renal tubule tumor. In most reports on spontaneous renal tubule tumor frequency, the incidence in males exceeds that of females for both laboratory species of rodents. Some rodent renal carcinogens such as N-methylnitrosourea, N-ethylnitrosourea, and ethyl methane sulfonate are alkylating agents capable of acting directly on cells without biochemical modification.
