Carcinogenicity
Ochratoxin A is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in experimental animals.
Cancer Studies in Experimental Animals
Oral exposure to ochratoxin A caused tumors at several different tissue sites in mice and rats. Dietary administration of ochratoxin A caused benign and/or malignant liver tumors (hepatocellular adenoma or carcinoma) in mice of both sexes and benign and malignant kidney tumors (renal-cell adenoma and carcinoma) in male mice (IARC 1983, 1987). When administered by stomach tube, ochratoxin A caused benign and/or metastatic malignant kidney tumors (renal-cell adenoma or carcinoma) in rats of both sexes and benign mammary-gland tumors (fibroadenoma) in female rats (NTP 1989, Huff 1991). Since ochratoxin A was listed in the Sixth Annual Report on Carcinogens, an additional study in male rats has been identified, which also found an increased incidence of kidney tumors following dietary exposure to ochratoxin A (Mantle et al. 2005).