NTP Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Diallylphthalate (CAS No. 131-17-9) in F344/N Rats (Gavage Studies).
Diallylphthalate is widely used as a crosslinking agent for unsaturated polyesters. Diallylphthalate or diallylphthalate polyester blends are used primarily as plasticizers and carriers for adding catalysts and pigments to polyesters and in molding, electrical parts, laminating compounds, and impregnation of metal castings. Rubber compounds, epoxy formulations, and polyurethane foams may also contain diallylphthalate. Precise figures are not currently available, although annual production of diallylphthalate in the United States is known to exceed 5,000 pounds, and an estimated 57,000 pounds were imported into the United States in 1982. Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of diallylphthalate (approximately 99% pure) were conducted by administering the test chemical in corn oil by gavage to groups of 50 male and 50 female F344/N rats at doses of 0 (vehicle control), 50, or 100 mg/kg 5 days per week for 103 weeks. The diallylphthalate doses used in the 2-year studies were chosen on the basis of 13-week studies, wherein doses of 200 or 400 mg/kg caused death, reductions in body weight gains, or periportal hepatocellular necrosis and fibrosis in both sexes. Mean body weights and survival of male and female rats administered diallylphthalate were essentially the same as those of the vehicle controls throughout the 2-year studies, although hepatotoxicity was produced in both sexes by the 100 mg/kg dose. Based on the results of the prechronic studies and the effects on the liver in the 2-year studies, the doses used in the 2-year studies were considered to be adequate for carcinogenicity testing. Male and female rats receiving the 100 mg/kg dose of diallylphthalate in the 2-year studies developed chronic liver diseases characterized by periportal fibrosis, periportal accumulation of pigment, and severe bile duct hyperplasia. Pigment accumulation also occurred at the 50 mg/kg dose in both sexes. Diallylphthalate administration increased the occurrence of mononuclear cell leukemia in female rats (P<0.05 by trend tests), and the increase in the 100 mg/kg dose female rats was greater (P</=0.05) than in the vehicle controls by pairwise comparisons (vehicle control, 15/50, 30%; low dose, 15/43, 35%; high dose, 25/49, 51%). An increased occurrence of mononuclear cell leukemia was not observed in male rats receiving diallylphthalate. A previous NTP carcinogenesis study (NTP TR 242) reported an increased incidence of lymphomas in male B6C3F1 mice receiving diallylphthalate by gavage for 2 years at doses of 0, 150, or 300 mg/kg. This increase was considered to be equivocally related to diallylphthalate administration. The incidences of hyperplasia and inflammatory lesions of the forestomach were increased in a dose-related fashion in both sexes of mice in that study, and uncommon forestomach papillomas were observed in 0%, 2%, and 4% of both sexes of mice. Because of the numerical increase in forestomach papillomas, the concomitant presence of forestomach hyperplasia, and the rarity of forestomach papillomas in vehicle control (corn oil gavage) B6C3F1 mice, the development of these proliferative lesions of the forestomach in mice may have been related to diallylphthalate administration. In the current study in rats, a squamous cell carcinoma was found in one high dose male rat. Diallylphthalate was not mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, or TA1537 with or without activation by a 9,000 x g supernatant fraction from the livers of Aroclor 1254-treated male Sprague-Dawley rats or Syrian hamsters. Diallylphthalate did not induce sex-linked recessive lethal mutations in Drosophila melanogaster. An audit of the experimental data was conducted for these carcinogenicity studies on diallylphthalate. No data discrepancies were found that influenced the final interpretations. Under the conditions of this study, the administration of diallylphthalate by gavage in corn oil to male and female F344/N rats for 2 years caused chronic liver disease characterized by periportal fibrosis and pigment accumulation and an increasetal fibrosis and pigment accumulation and an increased severity of bile duct hyperplasia. The incidence of mononuclear cell leukemia was significantly increased in female rats receiving 100 mg/kg. Because of the variability in the incidence of this neoplasm in aged Fisher 344 rats and the difficulty in definitively diagnosing this lesion in Fisher 344 rats, this increase was considered to be equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity of diallylphthalate in female rats. There was no evidence of carcinogenicity in male rats. Synonym: DAP