There is risk for occupational and environmental exposure to OTA. Thus, exposure to this mycotoxin may be a poorly recognized problem in our society. OTA has been classified as a group 2b possible carcinogen. Exposure to OTA has been implicated in teratogenesis (fetal malformation), nephrotoxicity, gonadotoxicity and carcinogenesis. The mechanisms for these effects of OTA have not been fully explained. There is an increasing incidence of testis cancer in Western societies combined with the increasing OTA exposures being reported. As well as studying the relationship of OTA to TCC initially, we also plan to examine a possible relationship between OTA and testicular cancer as well as renal cell carcinoma (RCC). To date, very little research into the effects of mycotoxins in humans has been performed. We plan to apply proven techniques of serum analysis using: