Prediction of cancer potency using a battery of mutation and toxicity data

Correlations between the carcinogenic potencies of 146 known mouse carcinogens and potency estimates determined from (i) Ames test results, (ii) a battery of mutation test results, and (iii) a battery of mutation and toxicity data are presented. The lowest correlation was found using Salmonella mutagenic potency (r = 0.37). The highest correlations were found using the battery of mutation and toxicity data to predict the potency of lung carcinogens (r = 0.94) and liver carcinogens (r = 0.91). The results suggest that short-term batteries which include tests for both mutagenicity and toxicity will be able to predict carcinogenic potency better than current batteries relying solely on mutagenicity tests.