Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts and breast cancer: a pooled analysis.

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.