Abstract
SEVERAL developments suggest the possibility of a new means of assessing the exposure of human populations to chemical carcinogens. Carcinogens such as 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) and p–dimethylaminoazobenzene (DAB) have been shown1–4 not to be carcinogenically active agents themselves, but to be converted into such agents by metabolic processes in the target organs (in these instances, liver). These studies also show that actively carcinogenic metabolites (as well as other metabolic products which are not carcinogenic) may be excreted in the urine, apparently as glucuronides4,5. Similar results have been obtained with human subjects ingesting aflatoxin B1 from contaminated peanut butter6.
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References
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COMMONER, B., VITHAYATHIL, A. & HENRY, J. Detection of metabolic carcinogen intermediates in urine of carcinogen-fed rats by means of bacterial mutagenesis. Nature 249, 850–852 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249850a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249850a0
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