BIOMARKERS OF INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CARCINOGENS - APPLICATION FOR BIOLOGICAL MONITORING

In order to develop new markers of individual susceptibility to variou s human carcinogens, we studied some parameters of formation and metab olism of carcinogens, as well as DNA adducts formation and DNA repair in animals and humans. Following an i.p. administration of benzo(a)pyr ene (BP) to the rats, levels of urinary excretion of BP-7,8-diol corre lated with tumour latency. A high correlation was found between excret ion of this metabolite and BP-DNA adducts level in the liver. Healthy smokers excreted higher quantities of BP-7,8-diol, than smoking lung c ancer patients, thus confirming the suggestion on existence of cancer- prone phenotype. N-nitroso compounds formed most efficiently in stomac h juice of children with superficial gastritis who therefore could be at high risk of stomach cancer. N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in duced stomach cancer earlier in monkeys with a low level of DNA repair enzyme, O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) in gastric mucosa. Overall, these markers can be helpful in predicting individual suscep tibility to carcinogens.