The Role of Oxidative DNA Damage in Human Arsenic Carcinogenesis: Detection of 8-Hydroxy-2′-Deoxyguanosine in Arsenic-Related Bowen's Disease

Arsenic is widely distributed in nature in the form of either metalloids or chemical compounds, which cause a variety of pathologic conditions including cutaneous and visceral malignancies. Recently, reactive oxygen species have been hypothesized to be one of the causes of arsenic-induced carcinogenesis. 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine is one of the major reactive oxygen species-induced DNA base-modified products that is widely accepted as a sensitive marker of oxidative DNA damage. We studied the presence of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine by immunohistochemistry using N45.1 monoclonal antibody in 28 cases of arsenic-related skin neoplasms and arsenic keratosis as well as in 11 cases of arsenic-unrelated Bowen’s diseases. The frequency of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine positive cases was significantly higher in arsenic-related skin neoplasms (22 of 28; 78%) than in arsenic-unrelated Bowen’s disease (one of 11; 9%) (p