Smoking and industrial pollution, and their effects on menopause and ovarian cancer.

The rodent ovary contains an enzyme system(s) capable of metabolising poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to reactive electrophilic intermediates known to cause cytotoxicity, mutation, and cancer. If the human ovary contains similar enzyme systems, metabolic activation of environmental chemicals could explain the earlier menopause in cigarette smokers and the higher incidence of ovarian cancer in industrialised areas.