What's New in Tumors of the Nasal Cavity?: Adenocarcinomas Arising after Exposure to Wood Dust

doi:10.1016/S0344-0338(89)80154-2

Pathology - Research and Practice

Volume 184, Issue 5, May 1989, Pages 554-558

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0344-0338(89)80154-2 Get rights and content

Summary

Since the first observations have been published by Macbeth in England 1965⁸ adenocarcinomas of the nose arising after exposure to wood dust have been considered as occupational diseases in a ,nurrzber of countries. As many questions concerning epidemiology, clinical course and pathology are still open, the Industrial Insurance Institute for the Wood Working Industry (Holz-Berufsgenossenschaft, Munich) has tried to collect all cases of nasal adenocarcinomas in the Federal Republic of Germany by requesting the clinical data from all Oto-Rhino-Laryngologic Clinics in West Germany and slides from the corresponding Institutes of Pathology. An extensive investigation concerning occupational exposure and other epidemiological aspects to wood dust was performed¹². The authors had the opportunity to review all clinical data and most of the histological material. Additionally some immunohistochemical and electron microscopical investigations were performed at the University Ear Nose Throat Clinic in Marburg⁷.

Finally we investigated cases of which we had the complete occupational, epidemiologic, clinical and histological data (further 34 cases with incomplete data are not discussed in this study).

References (12)

L Barnes et al.
L Barnes
Intestinal type adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses
Am J Surg Pathol
(1986)
JG Batsakis et al.
Enteric type adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity
Cancer
(1984)
DK Heffner et al.
Low-grade adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses
Cancer
(1982)
O Järvi
Heterotopic tumours with an intestinal mucous membrane structure in the nasal cavity
Acta oto-laryngol
(1946)
O Kleinsasser
Terminal tubulus adenocarcinoma of the nasal seromucous glands
A specific entity. Arch Otorhinolaryngol
(1985)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (14)

Evidence of p53 immunohistochemical overexpression in ethmoidal mucosa of woodworkers
2004, Cancer Detection and Prevention
A high risk of neoplastic transformation of nasal and paranasal sinuses mucosa is related to the occupational exposure to wood dust, however no conclusive data have been reported up to now about morphological precursors of these tumors, mechanisms of carcinogenesis and role of p53 gene. Immunohistochemical overexpression of protein p53 (DO7 clone) by epithelial cells of ethmoidal mucosa was investigated on 60 woodworkers occupationally exposed for a minimum of 10 years, on 50 functional and/or esthetic nasal surgery patients (control group) and on 15 cases of intestinal-type adenocarcinoma, 10 of these involving subjects who had a longtime exposure to wood dust. In almost all the woodworkers (92%) the normal ciliated epithelium showed tracts of squamous metaplasia. The mean percentage of p53-positive cells in woodworkers and in controls was 28.6 and 7.97%, respectively, in metaplastic epithelium (P<0.001), 11.7 and 2.08% in ciliated epithelium (P<0.001), 12.46 and 1.03% (P<0.001) in the sero-mucous glands of the nasal stroma. Both in tracts of metaplastic epithelium and in those of ciliated epithelium, positive cells were distributed in basal and suprabasal layers. A high number of p53-positive cells was also observed in the normal ciliated epithelium close to the neoplastic cells, of intestinal-type adenocarcinomas affecting subjects with longtime exposure to wood dust. Moreover, a higher number of p53 positive neoplastic cells was showed by the cases occurring in occupationally exposed patients than by the others.
The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) in the ethmoidal mucosa, a region at high risk of carcinogenesis in subjects exposed to wood dust, epithelial cells overexpress p53 protein, and this may be linked to the presence of p53 gene mutations; malignant transformation, as at other head and neck sites, may thus occur through this pathway; (2) the presence of p53 overexpression in sero-mucous glands is in keeping with the histogenesis of some tumors from these structures; (3) since tumors of nose and paranasal sinuses, mainly adenocarcinoma, are recognized as occupational neoplasias, immunohistochemical evaluation of p53, perhaps combined with molecular methods, could be the first step to detect subjects at high risk of carcinogenesis among woodworkers.
Carcinogenic response of the nasal cavity to inhaled chemical mixtures
1997, Mutation Research - Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis
Nasal cancers occur in experimental animals following chronic exposure to a wide range of inhaled chemicals. Although exposure to several of these chemicals is common in industrial as well as domestic environments, epidemiological studies have not provided convincing evidence that exposure to these chemicals individually is associated with nasal cancer in humans. The reverse seems to be true for inhalation of chemical mixtures. The evidence for nasal carcinogenicity of inhaled chemical mixtures in experimental animals is very limited, while there is ample evidence in humans that occupational exposure to certain chemical mixtures is associated with increased risk of nasal cancer. Examples of such (complex) chemical mixtures are wood dust, textile dust, chromium- and nickel-containing materials and leather dust. It is remarkable that these mixtures are aerosols, suggesting that a `dusty working environment' may increase nasal cancer risk.
Chemical markers of occupational exposure to teak wood dust
2014, Annals of Occupational Hygiene
Relevance of both individual risk factors and occupational exposure in cancer survival studies: The Example of Intestinal Type Sinonasal Adenocarcinoma
2011, Laryngoscope
Wood dust
2011, IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans
A survey of size-fractionated dust levels in the U.S. wood processing industry
2008, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

View all citing articles on Scopus

^a: O. Kleinsasser and H. G. Schroeder, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Philipps-University, Deutschhausstraße 3, D-3550 Marburg, FRG

View full text

What's New in Tumors of the Nasal Cavity?: Adenocarcinomas Arising after Exposure to Wood Dust

Summary

Intestinal type adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses

Am J Surg Pathol

Enteric type adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity

Cancer

Low-grade adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses

Cancer

Heterotopic tumours with an intestinal mucous membrane structure in the nasal cavity

Acta oto-laryngol

Terminal tubulus adenocarcinoma of the nasal seromucous glands

A specific entity. Arch Otorhinolaryngol