Aromatic Amines
CATEGORY: IARC probable, NTP reasonably anticipated, Endocrine disruptor
USED IN: Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust, formed in production of polyurethane foams, dyes, pesticides and pharmaceuticals
Aromatic amines are a class of chemicals found in the plastic and chemical industries, as byproducts of the manufacturing of compounds such as polyurethane foams, dyes, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. They are also found in environmental pollution such as diesel exhaust, combustion of wood chips and rubber, tobacco smoke and grilled meats and fish (DeBruin, 1999; 2002). There are three types of aromatic amines: monocylic, polycyclic and heterocyclic.
Three monocyclic amines, including o-toluidine, have been identified in the breast milk of healthy lactating women (Debruin, 1999). o-toluidine is known to cause mammary tumors in rodents (NTP, 2005d; Layton, 1995). These data indicate that the mother’s mammary tissue and the nursing child are exposed to environmental carcinogens during breast-feeding.
Occupational exposures of female rubber-factory workers to another set of monocyclic aromatic amines derived from p-phenylendiamine are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in the following several years. The amount of increased risk was correlated with total cumulative exposure levels to the aromatic amines, with lowest levels leading to a 3.7-fold increase in cancer and the highest levels of exposure increasing risk more than tenfold (de Votch, 2009).
Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are formed, along with PAHs, when meats or fish are grilled or otherwise cooked at high temperatures. A recent questionnaire study found an association between higher lifetime consumption of grilled meats and fish and increased incidence of post-menopausal breast cancer (Steck, 2007). Studies of both milk and cells from the ducts of women’s breasts revealed the presence of DNA adducts in association with HAAs (Thompson, 2002; Turesky, 2007). These DNA adducts are indicators of problems in DNA repair in cells, one of the early hallmarks of tumor development.
Laboratory studies of HAAs in systems using cultured breast cancer cells demonstrate that these chemicals can mimic estrogen, and they also can have direct effects on cell division processes in ways that might enhance the development of tumors (Gooderham, 2006).
