Scientists question research on carcinogenicity of methanol

Researchers have published an evaluation of the carcinogenic effects of methanol, concluding that there is little evidence to support a link between exposure and cancer in humans.

The US scientists evaluated the scientific evidence that methanol may induce lymphomas in humans, using a hypothesis-based weight of evidence approach to examine the results from human, animal, and mode-of-action studies. They highlight the uncertainties with animal studies reporting an apparent association, which may have been confounded by chronic respiratory infection, concluding that the apparent association between methanol exposure and lymphoma in some animal studies is weak and strains biological plausibility, and is better interpreted as due to confounding or to a mechanism not relevant in humans.

The research is published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.

• Abstract