[Prospects for using the SOS-Chromotest for predicting carcinogenic activity of chemical compounds]

When studying the carcinogenic activity of a compound, one of the basic problems is to determine the predictability of the methods used for testing; in our opinion, the most promising method is the SOS chromotest. To evaluate the test, we sampled 25 substances with a known carcinogenic activity, which had not been tested with the SOS chromotest before. Properties of the SOS chromotest were analyzed on the basis of a database containing 154 substances at present, which are characterized with regard to the presence or absence of a carcinogenic effect in rodents. The results are distributed as follows: 121 carcinogens, of which 79 positively respond to the SOS chromotest; 33 noncarcinogenes, of which 28 negatively respond to the SOS chromotest. The sensitivity and specificity of the SOS chromotest were measured as 65.3 and 84.9%, respectively. Comparing the results obtained with the Ames test and with the SOS chromotest, it was shown that the tests were similar in sensitivity and specificity. A similar predictability of both methods was also recorded.