Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
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TBD.
News Timeline
- New doubts cast on safety of common driveway sealant, Los Angeles Times, January 15, 2011.
Studies and Reports
- McCarty K et al., PAH-DNA adducts, cigarette smoking, GST polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk, Environ Health Perspect. 2009 Apr;117(4):552-8. Epub 2008 Dec 10.
- Conclusion. "We found little statistical evidence that PAHs interacted with GSTT1, GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTA1 polymorphisms to further increase breast cancer risk."
- Sagiv S et al., Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts and survival among women with breast cancer, Environ Res. 2009 Apr;109(3):287-91. Epub 2009 Jan 31.
- Abstract. " Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are mammary carcinogens in animal studies, and a few epidemiologic studies have suggested a link between elevated levels of PAH-DNA adducts and breast cancer incidence. An association between PAH-DNA adducts and survival among breast cancer cases has not been previously reported. We conducted a survival analysis among women with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer between 1996 and 1997, enrolled in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. DNA was isolated from blood samples that were obtained from cases shortly after diagnosis and assayed for PAH-DNA adducts using ELISA. Among the 722 cases with PAH-DNA adduct measurements, 97 deaths (13.4%) from all causes and 54 deaths (7.5%) due to breast cancer were reported to the National Death Index (NDI) by December 31, 2002. Using Cox proportional hazards models and controlling for age at diagnosis, we did not find evidence that all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-1.37), or breast cancer mortality (HR=1.20; 95% CI: 0.63-2.28) was strongly associated with detectable PAH-DNA adduct levels compared with non-detectable adducts; additionally, no dose-response association was observed. Among a subgroup with treatment data (n=520), adducts were associated with over a two-fold higher mortality among those receiving radiation, but mortality for adducts was reduced among hormone therapy users. Results from this large population-based study do not provide strong support for an association between detectable PAH-DNA adducts and survival among women with breast cancer, except perhaps among those receiving radiation treatment."
- Gammon M et al., Environmental toxins and breast cancer on Long Island. I. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon DNA adducts, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Aug;11(8):677-85.
- Abstract. "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are potent mammary carcinogens in rodents, but their effect on breast cancer development in women is not clear. To examine whether currently measurable PAH damage to DNA increases breast cancer risk, a population-based case-control study was undertaken on Long Island, NY. Cases were women newly diagnosed with in situ and invasive breast cancer; controls were randomly selected women frequency matched to the age distribution of cases. Blood samples were donated by 1102 (73.0%) and 1141 (73.3%) of case and control respondents, respectively. Samples from 576 cases and 427 controls were assayed for PAH-DNA adducts using an ELISA. The geometric mean (and geometric SD) of the log-transformed levels of PAH-DNA adducts on a natural scale was slightly, but nonsignificantly, higher among cases [7.36 (7.29)] than among controls [6.21 (4.17); P = 0.51]. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for breast cancer in relation to the highest quintile of adduct levels compared with the lowest was 1.51 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-2.20], with little or no evidence of substantial confounding (corresponding multivariate-adjusted OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.00-2.21). There was no consistent elevation in risk with increasing adduct levels, nor was there a consistent association between adduct levels and two of the main sources of PAH, active or passive cigarette smoking or consumption of grilled and smoked foods. These data indicate that PAH-DNA adduct formation may influence breast cancer development, although the association does not appear to be dose dependent and may have a threshold effect."
- Muscat J and Wynder E, The consumption of well-done red meat and the risk of colorectal cancer, Am J Public Health. 84(5):856-8, May 1994.
- Abstract. "Heterocyclic aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are mutagens that are produced in highly cooked meats. A case-control study of 511 patients with colorectal cancer and 500 matched control subjects examined whether consumption of well-done cooked beef is related to the risk of developing large bowel cancer. Approximately 16% of men and women consumed well-done beef, and 50% ate medium-cooked beef. For both sexes, there was no association between consumption of well-done or medium-cooked beef and colorectal cancer. This paper discusses whether questionnaire data accurately reflect dietary intake of heterocyclic aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons."
