Suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma in three workers with long-term exposure to sulphuric acid vapour

Sulphuric acid vapour has been suspected of being an industrial carcinogen. In this study, a cluster is presented of three patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who worked in the same building of a telecommunications conveyance station in southern Taiwan with long term exposure to sulphuric a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 1999-06, Vol.56 (6), p.426-428
Main Authors: Ho, C K, Lo, W C, Huang, P H, Wu, M T, Christiani, D C, Lin, C T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Batteries
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsies
Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens
Carcinoma
Chemical agents
Chemical hazards
Epstein Barr virus infections
Human herpesvirus 4
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - chemically induced
Neoplasia
Nucleic acids
Occupational Diseases - chemically induced
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Risk factors
Rooms
Short Report
Space-Time Clustering
Specimens
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric Acids - administration & dosage
Sulfuric Acids - adverse effects
Taiwan
Telecommunications
Tumors
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Summary:Sulphuric acid vapour has been suspected of being an industrial carcinogen. In this study, a cluster is presented of three patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who worked in the same building of a telecommunications conveyance station in southern Taiwan with long term exposure to sulphuric acid vapour concentrations as high as 0.18 mg/m3. All three workers were diagnosed with NPC within a 5 month period between September 1992, and March 1993. Compared with 19 other healthy workers from the same building, these three workers with NPC had worked significantly longer in this building than had the others (mean (SD) (years): 12.7 (0.6) v 7.4 (4.4); p = 0.01). With an in situ nucleic acid hybridisation and immunostaining method for colocalised Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and secretory component (SC) protein among biopsy specimens of these three patients with NPCs, it was found that some tumour cells did not contain EBV and SC protein staining signals. These results indicate that EBV infection is not the only risk factor for NPC and long term exposure to relatively low concentrations of sulphuric acid vapour may be associated with the development of NPC.
ISSN:1351-0711
1470-7926
DOI:10.1136/oem.56.6.426