Abstract
Metabolites of tobacco smoke constituents can be quantified in urine and other body fluids providing a realistic measure of carcinogen and toxicant dose in a smoker. Many previous studies have demonstrated that these metabolites - referred to as biomarkers in this paper - are related to tobacco smoke exposure. The studies reviewed here were designed to answer another question: are these substances also biomarkers of cancer risk? Using a prospective study design comparing biomarker levels in cancer cases and controls, all of whom were smokers, the results demonstrate that several of these biomarkers - total cotinine, total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), r-1-, t-2,3, c-4-tetrahydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrophenanthrene (PheT), and total N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) - are biomarkers of cancer risk. Therefore, these biomarkers have the potential to become part of a cancer risk prediction algorithm for smokers.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 34-38 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Cancer Letters |
| Volume | 334 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 28 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:These studies were supported by US National Institutes of Health Grants CA-129534, CA-144034, CA-92025 and CA-81301. We thank Bob Carlson for editorial assistance.
Keywords
- Biomarkers
- Cotinine
- NNAL
- NNN
- PheT
- Tobacco smoke
