A food-derived carcinogen; metabolized by CYP1A2 and conjugated by N-acetyltransferase or sulfotransferase to a metabolite that reacts with DNA to form adducts; chronic treatment (1 pM/L for 20 cycles) of MCF-10A cells induces anchorage-independent cell growth and reduces cellular dependence on growth factors; increases wild-type H-Ras gene and protein expression which activates ERK signaling, MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expression, and NOX1-driven production of ROS in vitro; increases tumor formation in a murine breast cancer xenograft model; induces formation of colon tumors with β-catenin gene mutations that hyperactivate the Wnt signaling pathway in a CYP1A2 humanized rat model; increases the occurrence of atypical hyperplasias and carcinomas in the ventral prostate and seminal vesicles of rats,