An Investigation of the Oncogenic Activity of Two Representative Epoxy Resins*

This study was undertaken to determine whether certain compounds containing two or more epoxy linkages possessed oncogenic activity. This possibility was suggested by the findings of Hendry and his co-workers (8) who produced sar coma in rats—but not skin cancer in mice—with butadiene dioxide, and both types of tumor with vinyl cyclohexene dioxide. Although the possibility that the epoxy resins would induce tumors seemed remote, many of them have industrial applications, and it was therefore deemed advisable to investigate them experimentally and to determine whether there was oncogenic activity and, if so, the degree of potency and type of tumor induced. Over a period of S years, we have ascertained that the representative epoxy resins designated herein as A and B1 induced sarcoma in rats. Only Epoxy Resin A produced skin cancer in mice, and the potency was low. None of the seven com pounds tested (Table 1) had any effect @onthe inci dence of pulmonary adenoma in Heston A mice.