Cancer Res  2001 Sep 15;61(18):6679-81 

Lung tumor KRAS and TP53 mutations in nonsmokers reflect exposure to PAH-rich
coal combustion emissions.

DeMarini DM, Landi S, Tian D, Hanley NM, Li X, Hu F, Roop BC, Mass MJ, Keohavong
P, Gao W, Olivier M, Hainaut P, Mumford JL.

Environmental Carcinogenesis Division (MD-68), United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA.
demarini.david@epa.gov

We determined the TP53 and codon 12 KRAS mutations in lung tumors from 24
nonsmokers whose tumors were associated with exposure to smoky coal. Among any
tumors studied previously, these showed the highest percentage of mutations that
(a) were G --> T transversions at either KRAS (86%) or TP53 (76%), (b) clustered
at the G-rich codons 153-158 of TP53 (33%), and (c) had 100% of the guanines of
the G --> T transversions on the nontranscribed strand. This mutation spectrum
is consistent with an exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are
the primary component of the smoky coal emissions. These results show that
mutations in the TP53 and KRAS genes can reflect a specific environmental
exposure.

PMID: 11559534 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]