The role of peroxidase-catalyzed activation of aromatic amines in breast cancer.

Aromatic amines are mammary carcinogens in rodents and exposure to aromatic amines may be associated with increased risk of breast cancer in women. Peroxidases present in milk can oxidize aromatic amines to reactive electrophiles which bind to DNA and induce mutations. Hydrogen peroxide, required for peroxidase-dependent oxidations, is supplied by milk xanthine oxidase and by the respiratory burst of neutrophils, cells which are present in milk and activated by exposure to it. In this paper, I propose that lactoperoxidase and myeloperoxidase activate aromatic amines, within the breast ducts, and that these enzymes play a crucial role in the chemical induction of breast cancer.