DNA Lesions in MEDKA (O. Latipes): Development of a Micro-Method for TissueAnalysis Using GC-MS

摘要

The application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with the complementarytechnique of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to the analysis of DNA from cancer and noncancer tissue has provided a firm body of evidence demonstrating a pivotal role for free radicals in carcinogenesis. Substantial differences in radical-induced damage to DNA between cancer and noncancer tissue have been demonstrated in the female breast. Basically, the same type of damage was found in fish exposed to environmental contaminants, suggesting that the radical processes are phylogenetically conserved. The damage to DNA in the normal female breast has been shown to be a nonrandom progression culminating in a cancer-like phenotype in a substantial proportion of the women studied. Statistical evaluations of the DNA data derived from both analytical procedures allowed for the formulation of cancer probability models. Overall, the findings indicate that the genetic instability introduced into the DNA of normal tissues is pivotal in the etiology of cancer in diverse biological systems and that the DNA changes identified are promising biomarkers for cancer risk prediction.