Identification of tobacco-derived compounds in human pancreatic juice

Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in the USA with an estimated 28 900 deaths in 2001. Several factors have been implicated in the etiology of this disease. However, at present, only cigarette smoking has been positively associated with pancreatic cancer. It is our working hypothesis that tobacco-derived compounds can be delivered to the pancreas where, upon metabolic activation, they can initiate carcinogenesis. Our current investigation was conducted to determine whether cotinine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) are present in human pancreatic juice. Smoking status was assessed by the determination of levels of urinary cotinine and was further supported by quantifying nicotine in hair. The TSNA were extracted from the pancreatic juice of 18 smokers and 9 nonsmokers by supercritical carbon dioxide that contained 10% methanol. The extracts were analyzed for TSNA, namely, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N‘-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), by gas...