In humans, genetic variation and dietary factors may alter the
biological effects of exposure to 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-
b]pyridine (
PhIP), one of the major heterocyclic
amines generated from cooking meats at high temperatures that has carcinogenic potential through the formation of
DNA adducts. Previously, we reported grilled red meat consumption associated with
PhIP-DNA adduct levels in human prostate. In this study, we expanded our investigation to estimate the associations between beverage consumption and
PhIP-DNA adduct levels in prostate for 391
prostate cancer cases. Of the 15 beverages analyzed, red wine consumption had the strongest association with
PhIP-DNA adduct levels showing an inverse correlation in both
tumor (P = 0.006) and nontumor (P = 0.002) prostate cells. Red wine consumption was significantly lower in African American compared with white cases, but
PhIP-DNA adduct levels in prostate did not vary by race. In African Americans compared with whites, however, associations between red wine consumption and
PhIP-DNA adduct levels were not as strong as associations with specific (e.g., SULT1A1 and
UGT1A10 genotypes) and nonspecific (e.g., African ancestry) genetic variation. In a multivariable model, the covariate for red wine consumption explained a comparable percentage (13%-16%) of the variation in
PhIP-DNA adduct levels in prostate across the two racial groups, but the aforementioned genetic factors explained 33% of the
PhIP-DNA adduct variation in African American cases, whereas only 19% of the
PhIP-DNA adduct variation in whites. We conclude that red wine consumption may counteract
biological effects of
PhIP exposure in human prostate, but genetic factors may play an even larger role, particularly in African Americans.