Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA), exposure, metabolism, macromolecular adducts, and cancer risk

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) form during the high-temperature cooking of meats, poultry, and fish but also during the combustion of tobacco. HAAs are mutagenic and multisite carcinogens in rodents. In humans, HAAs undergo efficient metabolic activation to form DNA adducts, a key event in HAA chemical carcinogenesis. This chapter discusses HAA formation, metabolism, DNA and protein adduct formation, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis. The critical need to establish long-lived biomarkers of HAAs for implementation in molecular epidemiology studies designed to assess the role of diet and HAAs in health risk is also discussed.