Comparative tumor-initiating activity of complex mixtures from environmental particulate emissions on SENCAR mouse skin.

The value of the SENCAR mouse for testing tumorigenic properties of complex mixtures on mouse skin was studied. Seven complex mixtures were obtained as dichloromethane extracts of collected particulate emissions from three diesel-fueled automobiles, a heavy-duty diesel engine, a nonleaded gasoline-fueled automobile, a coke oven battery, and a roofing tar pot. These emissions were applied topically at multiple doses to both male and female SENCAR mice that were subsequently promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate. Two statistical analyses were applied to the data to rank the samples and to provide 95% confidence intervals. One analysis used tumor multiplicity data, applied them to a nonlinear Poisson model, and the second analysis used tumor incidence data and applied them to a log-probit model. Both analyses ranked the complex mixtures in similar order. Benzo[a]pyrene content alone could not account for all the tumorigenic activity in each complex mixture, indicating that other components also contribute to the overall tumorigenic activity.