potassium-bromate and Thyroid-Neoplasms

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is an oxidizing agent that has been used as a food additive, mainly in the bread-making process. Although adverse effects are not evident in animals fed bread-based diets made from flour treated with KBrO3, the agent is carcinogenic in rats and nephrotoxic in both man and experimental animals when given orally. It has been demonstrated that KBrO3 induces renal cell tumors, mesotheliomas of the peritoneum, and follicular cell tumors of the thyroid. In addition, experiments aimed at elucidating the mode of carcinogenic action have revealed that KBrO3 is a complete carcinogen, possessing both initiating and promoting activities for rat renal tumorigenesis. However, the potential seems to be weak in mice and hamsters. In contrast to its weak mutagenic activity in microbial assays, KBrO3 showed relatively strong potential inducing chromosome aberrations both in vitro and in vivo. Glutathione and cysteine degrade KBrO3 in vitro; in turn, the KBrO3 has inhibitory effects on inducing lipid peroxidation in the rat kidney. Active oxygen radicals generated from KBrO3 were implicated in its toxic and carcinogenic effects, especially because KBrO3 produced 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in the rat kidney. A wide range of data from applications of various analytical methods are now available for risk assessment purposes.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Administration, Oral; Animals; Bread; Bromates; Bromides; Carcinogenicity Tests; Carcinogens; Carcinoma, Renal Cell; Chromosome Aberrations; Cocarcinogenesis; Cricetinae; Cysteine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fish Products; Food Additives; Food Handling; Glutathione; Hair Preparations; Hearing Loss; Humans; Japan; Kidney Diseases; Kidney Neoplasms; Maximum Allowable Concentration; Mesocricetus; Mesothelioma; Mice; Mutagenicity Tests; Occupational Diseases; Peritoneal Neoplasms; Potassium; Potassium Compounds; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Species Specificity; Thyroid Neoplasms; United Kingdom; United States

Five chemicals that are known to induce in rats thyroid follicular-cell adenomas and carcinomas were assayed for their ability to induce DNA damage and DNA repair synthesis in primary cultures of human thyroid cells. Significant dose-dependent increases in the frequency of DNA single-strand breaks and alkali-labile sites, as measured by the same Comet assay, were obtained after a 20-h exposure to the following subtoxic concentrations of the five test compounds: methimazole from 2.5 to 10mM; nitrobenzene, potassium bromate, N,N'-diethylthiourea and ethylenethiourea from 1.25 to 5mM. Under the same experimental conditions, DNA repair synthesis, as evaluated by quantitative autoradiography, was present in potassium bromate-exposed thyroid cells from all the three donors and in those from two of three donors with either nitrobenzene or ethylenethiourea, but did not match the criteria for a positive response in thyroid cells from any of the donors with methimazole and N,N'-diethylthiourea. Consistently with their ability to induce thyroid tumors, all the five test compounds, administered p.o. in rats in a single dose corresponding to 1/2 LD50, induced a statistically significant degree of DNA fragmentation in the thyroid. These findings suggest that the five test compounds might be carcinogenic to thyroid in humans.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma, Follicular; Adenoma; Animals; Bromates; Carcinogens; Cells, Cultured; DNA Damage; DNA Fragmentation; DNA Repair; Ethylenethiourea; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Kidney; Liver; Male; Methimazole; Nitrobenzenes; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Thiourea; Thyroid Gland; Thyroid Neoplasms

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is a prooxidant and carcinogen, inducing thyroid tumors. Melatonin and indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) are effective antioxidants. Some antioxidative effects of propylthiouracil (PTU)--a thyrostatic drug--have been found. The aim of the study was to compare protective effects of melatonin, IPA, and PTU against lipid peroxidation in the thyroids, collected from rats treated with KBrO3, and in homogenates of porcine thyroids, incubated in the presence of KBrO3. Wistar rats were administered KBrO3 (110 mg/kg b.w., i.p., on the 10th day of the experiment) and/or melatonin, or IPA (0.0645 mmol/kg b.w., i.p., twice daily, for 10 days), or PTU (0.025% solution in drinking water, for 10 days). Homogenates of porcine thyroids were incubated for 30 min in the presence of KBrO3 (5 mM) plus one of the antioxidants: melatonin (0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 7.5 mM), or IPA (0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 mM), or PTU (0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 mM). The level of lipid peroxidation products (MDA + 4-HDA) was measured spectrophotometrically in thyroid homogenates. In vivo pretreatment with either melatonin or with IPA or with PTU decreased lipid peroxidation caused by KBrO3--injections in rat thyroid gland. Under in vitro conditions, PTU (5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mM), but neither melatonin nor IPA, reduced KBrO3-related lipid peroxidation in the homogenates of porcine thyroids. In conclusion, melatonin and IPA may be of great value as protective agents under conditions of exposure to KBrO3.

Topics: Animals; Antimetabolites; Antioxidants; Bromates; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Indoles; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Melatonin; Propylthiouracil; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Swine; Thyroid Gland; Thyroid Neoplasms

In order to ascertain the minimum induction time, minimum treatment period and total dose required for development of renal cell tumors, KBrO3 at a concentration of 500 ppm was administered in the drinking water to a total of 232 male F344 rats divided into 14 experimental groups and the development of tumors was examined by two different approaches. In a continued-treatment study, administration of KBrO3 was stopped at week 13, 26, 39, 52 or 104 and rats were immediately sacrificed for comparison with controls given distilled water (DW) alone. Renal cell adenomas were found as early as after 26 weeks of treatment with KBrO3. The yields of dysplastic foci, adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the kidney, follicular cell tumors of the thyroid and mesotheliomas of the peritoneum increased with treatment, the final incidences all being statistically significant after administration of KBrO3 for 104 weeks. To examine the effect of discontinued treatment, on the other hand, the rats were given KBrO3 for the first 13, 26, 39 or 52 weeks and were subsequently maintained on DW alone until sacrifice at week 104. The incidences of tumors in these groups were compared with that of a group continuously administered KBrO3 for 104 weeks. The yields of renal dysplastic foci, adenomas and adenocarcinomas in all discontinued-treatment groups were approximately equal to or even higher than those in the group given KBrO3 continuously for 104 weeks. It is concluded that, under the conditions of this study: the minimum induction time for the development of renal adenomas was 26 weeks and the minimum treatment period and total dose for the induction of renal adenomas and adenocarcinomas were 13 weeks and 4 g/kg, respectively, when the rats were maintained thereafter on DW for 2 years.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Bromates; Bromine; Carcinogens; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drinking Behavior; Drug Administration Schedule; Kidney Neoplasms; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Thyroid Neoplasms

Dose-response studies on the carcinogenicity of potassium bromate (KBrO3), a food additive, were undertaken to examine its effects at low doses. A total of 148 6-week-old male inbred F344 rats were divided into 7 groups. They were given KBrO3 orally in their drinking water at doses of 500, 250, 125, 60, 30, 15, and 0 ppm for 104 weeks, at the end of which time all the surviving animals were autopsied and then examined histopathologically. Shortening of the survival times and marked inhibition of body weight increase were observed in a group given 500 ppm KBrO3. The combined incidences of renal adenocarcinomas and adenomas were significantly increased in rats treated with KBrO3 at doses of 500, 250, and 125 ppm in a dose-related manner. The dose-response curve showed a sigmoid appearance. The value for the virtually safe dose (VSD), calculated by the probit model, was 0.950 ppm KBrO3 at a risk level of 10(-6). However, significant increases in the occurrence of dysplastic foci of the kidney were found in groups at doses higher than 30 ppm KBrO3. The VSD value for the dysplastic foci estimated by the gamma-multi-hit model was 0.148 X 10(-3) ppm KBrO3 at a risk level of 10(-6). In a group tested with 500 ppm KBrO3, the combined incidences for follicular adenocarcinomas and adenomas of the thyroid and for mesotheliomas of the peritoneum were shown to be significantly increased.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Adenoma; Animals; Bromates; Bromine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Food Additives; Kidney Neoplasms; Male; Mesothelioma; Neoplasms, Experimental; Peritoneal Neoplasms; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Thyroid Neoplasms