Carcinogenicity
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by unrestrained or abnormal growth of cells. Each year cancer is one of the leading causes of death in countries around the world.
The causes of cancer are poorly understood but are widely regarded to arise from both heritable (susceptibility within our individual genetic makeup) and environmental (exposure to substances naturally occurring or man-made in food, water, air) causes. For example, fair skinned individuals may be more susceptible to skin cancer caused by excessive exposure to sunlight. Some chemicals in the environment can damage the genetic makeup of our cells (genotoxicity) and are recognized as carcinogens (substances that can cause cancer). For example, cigarette smoke contains many chemicals that damage genetic material and cause cancer in experimental animals. Cigarette smoking has been characterized by the Surgeon General as a major cause of lung cancer in the United States.
Short chain alkyl-methacrylate esters do not cause genotoxicity. Extensive cancer studies have been conducted in animals with MMA, the largest production volume ester, showing that MMA does not cause cancer in animals. This is consistent with and supported by studies in workers exposed to MMA for more than 30 years that indicate that there is not an increased risk of cancer due to occupational exposure to MMA.
There is limited or no information on the carcinogenicity of other methacrylate esters although consideration of their chemical structures and analogy to MMA would indicate they also do not pose a risk of cancer to humans.
In the case of nBMA, cancer studies have been performed in rats and mice that show no evidence that nBMA pose a risk of cancer to humans. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified n-butyl methacrylate (n-BMA) as a Group 2B carcinogen (“possibly carcinogenic to humans”). The Methacrylate Producers Association, Inc and member companies strongly dispute this interpretation of the study findings and this has been confirmed by a recent review by independent experts. For more information, see: Methacrylates and Carcinogenicity Technical Summary
For more information, see the following publications: