2004 Articles

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-DNA Adducts and Breast Cancer: A Pooled Analysis

Gammon, Marilie D.; Sagiv, Sharon K.; Eng, Sybil M.; Shantakumar, Sumitra; Guadet, Mia M.; Teitelbaum, Susan L.; Britton, Julie A.; Terry, Mary Beth; Wang, Lian Wen; Wang, Qiao; Stellman, Steven D.; Beyea, Jan; Hatch, Maureen; Kabat, Geoffrey C.; Wolff, Mary S.; Levin, Bruce; Neugut, Alfred I.; Santella, Regina M.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts have been associated with breast cancer in several small studies. The authors' pooled analysis included 873 cases and 941 controls from a population-based case-control study. Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in peripheral mononuclear cells was conducted in 2 rounds, and results were pooled on the basis of round-specific quantiles. The odds ratio for breast cancer was elevated in relation to detectable PAH-DNA adducts (1.29 as compared with nondetectable adduct levels; 95% confidence interval = 1.05, 1.58), but there was no apparent dose-response relationship with increasing quantiles. No consistent pattern emerged when the results were stratified by PAH sources (e.g., active cigarette smoking or PAH-containing foods), or when the cases were categorized by stage of disease or hormone receptor status. These data provide only modest support for an association between PAH-DNA adducts and breast cancer development.