Polymorphic metabolism of the carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene in human liver microsomes.

Two distinct phenotypes, slow and fast metabolizers, were observed for both metabolic activation and detoxification of the model chemical carcinogen, 2-acetylaminofluorene, in human liver microsomes from 28 individuals. We observed that individuals who were fast activators of the carcinogen were in most cases also fast detoxifiers of the chemical. However, different phenotype patterns exist suggesting that fast activators of a toxin need not also be phenotyped as fast detoxifiers. Studies in this area may help understand whether certain individuals are predisposed to a higher rate of chemically-induced cancers.