Internal exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and DNA damage

In the August issue of the Archives, Käfferlein et al. report no association between occupational exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and DNA damage on the individual level (Käfferlein et al. 2012). Internal PAH exposure, assessed in a variety of occupations by means of urinary 3-hydroxy benzo[a]pyrene (3-OH-B[a]P) and 1- and 2-naphtol (∑OHNaph), was unrelated with DNA strand break frequencies and the levels of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dGuo), perhaps with the exception of a small group of converter workers where an uncertain correlation between ∑OHNaph and 8-oxo-dGuo was observed. Authors discuss reasons for this lack of association suggesting to focus on the individual exposure circumstances. These include possible different routes of exposure and co-exposures and a better understanding and assessment of the kinetics and dynamics of the endpoints. We report here the lack of correlations on the individual level in a group of coke oven non-smoker workers between other endpoints of exposure such as urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and lymphocyte anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide DNA adduct (anti-B[a]PDE-DNA) and of genotoxic effect such as lymphocyte micronuclei (MN) frequency.