Key Topics
IARC Advisory Group Prioritizes Ethyl Acrylate for Review
During its April 2014 meeting, the IARC Advisory Group recommended priorities for IARC Monographs during 2015-2019. Ethyl Acrylate is included as a “High priority” chemical. As stated on page 22 of the IARC report:
Ethyl acrylate is an industrial chemical and synthesis intermediate for many consumer products. It was evaluated by IARC in 1986 and again in 1999 (Volumes 39 and 71) and listed in Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans). Ethyl acrylate was also listed as a carcinogen in experimental animals for many years by the NTP Report on Carcinogens, based on the occurrence of forestomach tumours in rats and mice in conjunction with significant toxicity in studies where the chemical was administered by gavage. Cancer studies using other routes of exposure gave negative results. There have been many mechanistic studies carried out over the years suggesting that the forestomach-tumour response may be related to irritation and the proliferative cellular response to deposition of the material in the stomach, calling into question the relevance of this finding to human health hazards.
Recommendation: High priority