2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine, a Carcinogen in High- Temperature-Cooked Meat, and Breast Cancer Risk

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Abstract
Although intake of well-done red meat has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (1), it is unclear what component(s) of well-done red meat is associated with this risk. Meats cooked to well-done at high temperatures contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs), such as 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (DiMeIQx), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) (2–9). The amounts of these compounds vary according to cooking technique, temperature, cooking time, and type of meat (10,11). Although PhIP administered orally can induce mammary gland carcinomas in rats (12–14), the association of HCAs with human breast cancer is unclear. Two studies have investigated the association between meat-cooking methods and breast cancer. One study (15) did not obtain information on the degree of meat doneness, from which levels of HCA can be estimated, and the other study (16) used HCA estimates from laboratory-cooked meat samples from one country and subjects from a different country.