Application of antibody methods to the detection of aflatoxin in human body fluids.

Four different approaches to the quantification of human exposure to aflatoxins (AF) are presented: (i) analysis of urinary AF metabolites and DNA adducts, (ii) assay of AF bound to blood proteins and to lymphocyte DNA, (iii) immunocytochemical localization of AF in individual cells, and (iv) detection of AF in human breast milk. The potential applications of these approaches for assessing the role of both AF and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are presented. The advantages and limitations of the methods for use in large-scale epidemiological studies are discussed, with particular attention to sensitivity.