NTP Carcinogenesis Studies of Trichloroethylene (Without Epichlorohydrin) (CAS No. 79-01-6) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies).

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an industrial solvent used for vapor degreasing and cold cleaning of fabricated metal parts. TCE has also been used as a carrier solvent for the active ingredients of insecticides and fungicides, as a solvent for waxes, fats, resins, and oils, as an anesthetic for medical and dental use, and as an extractant for spice oleoresins and for caffeine from coffee. Trichloroethylene may be found in printing inks, varnishes, adhesives, paints, lacquers, spot removers, rug cleaners, disinfectants, and cosmetic cleansing fluids. TCE may also be used as a chain terminator in polyvinyl chloride production and as an intermediate in the production of pentachloroethane. Trichloroethylene is no longer used with food, drugs, or cosmetics. NTP Carcinogenesis studies of epichlorohydrin-free trichloroethylene were conducted by administering the test chemical in corn oil by gavage to groups of 50 male and 50 female F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice. Dosage levels were 500 and 1,000 mg/kg for rats and 1,000 mg/kg for mice. Trichloroethylene was administered five times per week for 103 weeks, and surviving animals were killed between weeks 103 and 107. Groups of 50 rats and 50 mice of each sex received corn oil by gavage on the same schedule and served as vehicle controls. Groups of 50 male and 50 female rats were used as untreated controls. The dosage levels selected for the 2-year study were based on the results of the 13-week studies. Groups of 10 male and 10 female rats received TCE by gavage at doses of 125 to 2,000 mg/kg (males) and 62.5 to 1,000 mg/kg (females) for 13 weeks. Groups of 10 male and 10 female mice received gavage doses of 375 to 6,000 mg/kg of TCE for 13 weeks. Survival, body weight gains, and previous experience with TCE were used to select doses for the 2-year study. All rats survived the 13-week study, but males receiving 2,000 mg/kg exhibited a 24% difference in final body weight. At the 1,000 mg/kg dose, final body weights for males (-3%) and for females (-2%) were similar to those of controls. The doses selected for the 2-year study in rats were 500 and 1,000 mg/kg for both sexes. The initial doses used in the earlier bioassay in Osborne-Mendel rats were 549 and 1,097 mg/kg for both sexes. A total of 8/10 male mice and 10/10 female mice receiving doses of TCE as high as 1,500 mg/kg survived the 13-week experimental period. The single dosage level selected for the 2-year study in mice was 1,000 mg/kg for both sexes. This dose was less than the high dose used in the earlier bioassay in B6C3F1 mice (2,339 mg/kg for males and 1,739 for females) and was similar to the previous low doses (1,169 mg/kg for males and 869 for females). In the 2-year study, the survival of both low and high dose male rats and dosed male mice was less (P