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The Carcinogenic Potency Project

Overview of Supplementary Dataset on Survival and Dosing in the Carcinogenic Potency Database


A supplementary dataset provides dosing and survival data from papers in the general literature and links to the CPDB. These data have not been published in the Carcinogenic Potency Database plot format. Results are given for each dose group in each experiment. The results may be useful to people who want additional details about each experiment.

The Supplementary Dataset is available in Tab-separated and Excel formats.

Detailed documentation on individual data fields is given in: Documentation of the Fields in the Supplementary Dataset.

Survival information is reported in cpdb.supp.tab (tab-separated) or cpdb.supp.xls (Excel) for those experiments in the general literature for which the published author chose to report survival results. Examples include the number of animals alive in a dose group that were at terminal sacrifice, mean and median survival.

Dose information is included in the cpdb.supp.tab (tab-separated) or cpdb.supp.xls (Excel) dataset, which describes for each dose group in a literature experiment: the pattern of dosing, the administered dose levels in units reported in the published paper, and the dose calculated for the CPDB.

For experiments in which the pattern or level of the administered dose varied during the course of the experiment (“variable dosing”), this information is provided in the files cpdb.suppvary.tab (tab-separated) or cpdb.suppvary.xls (Excel). These experiments have a “v” notecode in the plot of the CPDB for “variable dosing”.

The main CPDB in tab-separated format can be linked to the Supplementary Dataset.

There are many blanks throughout the supplementary dataset because of varying experimental conditions and individual authors’ choices about what to report in their published papers.

Survival Information

Survival information is reported whenever given in the published paper as follows:

  1. Animals per group at start of the experiment.
  2. Last death: The length of time on test of the last survivor in the group. A range may be reported if the last death could not be precisely determined because it was derived from grouped data.
  3. Number alive in the dose group at the end of the experiment
  4. Effective number. Either: (1) the number of animals alive at the time of the first tumor, or if that is not reported, then (2) the number of animals examined histopathologically. This is the number used in the CPDB.
  5. The shortest time unit reported in the published paper is used (“da”: days, “wk”: weeks, “mo”: months, “yr”: years).
  6. Mean survival: Units are time on test, not age. Often not reported in the published paper.
  7. Median survival: Units are time on test, not age. Sometimes only a range is possible. This is often derived from a graph in the published paper. Often not reported in published paper.
  8. Mean survival of the tumor-bearing animals in the dose group. Rarely reported in published paper.
  9. Median survival of the tumor-bearing animals in the dose group. Rarely reported in published paper.
  10. Age at first dose, or for variable dosing, the age at which each dose began. If weanling is all that is reported in published paper, 6 weeks is assumed for rats, mice, and hamsters.

Dose Information

The dosing information from the published paper reported in the supplementary dataset is used in combination with the standard values for each sex-species to calculate the dose in mg/kg/day that is used in the CPDB.

  1. The daily-dose rate averaged over the length of experiment and reported in the CPDB.
  2. The type of dosing: control group, regular, variable or total dose (rarely used)
    In regular dosing, the amount and schedule of dosing is fixed and regular throughout the experiment.
    In variable dosing, the dose amount and/or the dosing pattern is changed during the experiment.
  3. For inhalation exposures, number of hours per day that animals are in the chamber.
  4. For gavage and injection routes, milliliters per exposure when dose is given in mg/ml in the published paper. For inhalation tests or tests for which the dose is reported in moles/liter, the molecular weight is used to calculate the dose in mg/kg/day.
  5. The dose in units reported in the published paper. Possible units are:
    %, mg/kg_eat, mg/kg_weight, mg, mg/ml, moles/liter, ppm, gm, gm/kg_weight
    These dose values are used to calculate the dose in mg/kg/day using the standard values table for the CPDB.
  6. The number of variable doses, if the dose administered to a group changed during the experiment, or if the pattern of dosing changed, then the frequency of changes is reported
  7. The pattern of dose levels for a single dose group when the dose varies over time.
  8. The period of time during which the chemical was administered, e.g. if the animal is exposed 5 times per week for 80 weeks, the exposure length is 80 weeks.
  9. The number of times per week of exposure. For dietary administration, ad libitum feeding is 7 times per week.
  10. Duration of the experiment to terminal sacrifice.

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Last updated: August 6, 2007


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