Re-evaluation of the kidney tumors and renal histopathology occurring in a 2-year rat carcinogenicity bioassay of quercetin

Renal histopathology in the most recent 2-year carcinogenicity bioassay of quercetin, in Fischer 344 rats, was re-evaluated in an attempt to determine a mode of action underlying a small increase in renal tubule tumors reported in the males (NTP, 1992). The re-evaluation confirmed the reported increase in renal tumors in mid- and high-dose males, including a single carcinoma in a high-dose male, as well as an exacerbation of spontaneous, chronic progressive nephropathy (CPN) in male rats only. The re-evaluation also showed that there were no cellular alterations in the kidney indicative of chemical toxicity at 6 months, 15 months, or 2 years. The evidence linked the occurrence of the predominant basophilic adenomas and foci of atypical tubule hyperplasia (ATH) with the exacerbation of CPN to advanced grades of severity, supporting a mode of action involving quercetin interaction with CPN. This mode of action represents a secondary mechanism for renal tumor development, with no relevance for extrapolation to humans. In addition, the single carcinoma present in the high-dose males, along with 4 other lesions ranging from ATH to adenoma in male and female groups, were considered to have a unique phenotype associated previously with neoplasms of spontaneous and familial origin.