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. 1993 Dec;101(Suppl 6):35–38. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101s635

Review of the carcinogenic potential of gasoline.

G K Raabe 1
PMCID: PMC1520000  PMID: 8020448

Abstract

This review examines the animal, human, and mechanistic studies that precede the new studies reported in this volume. Wholly vaporized unleaded gasoline was found to produce a dose-dependent increase in renal carcinoma in male rats and an excess above background incidence of hepatocellular tumors in female mice in the high-dose group. Mechanistic studies suggest that gasoline is not mutagenic and that the probable mechanism for the male rat renal tumors involves a rat-specific protein, alpha 2u-globulin, whose binding with highly branched aliphatic compounds results in renal tubule cell death and, in turn, a proliferative sequence that increases renal tubule tumors. Human evidence generated predominantly from studies of refinery workers does not support a kidney or liver cancer risk in humans. The current epidemiologic database is inadequate to access leukemia risk from low-level benzene exposure from gasoline. Studies of gasoline-exposed workers that incorporate quantitative exposure information are needed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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