ARTICLES Targeting of Lung Cancer Mutational Hotspots by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

ubiquitous in combustion products of organic matter, in-cluding cigarette smoke. Metabolically activated diol epox-ides of these compounds, including benzo[a]pyrene diol ep-oxide (B[a]PDE), have been suggested as causative agents in the development of lung cancer. We previously mapped the distribution of B[a]PDE adducts within the p53 tumor sup-pressor gene (also known as TP53), which is mutated in 60% of human lung cancers, and found that B[a]PDE adducts preferentially form at lung cancer mutational hotspot