Industrial pollutants and nasopharyngeal cancer: an open question

ABSTRACT

Introduction and Objectives: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma represents 0.7% of the total cancer cases in the world with an ASR index of 1.7 and is widely associated with Epstein-Barr virus. It is not common in Italy [ASR index of 0.5] while in China [ASR 1.9], one third of the clinical cases are observed in Guangdong [ASR index 11.3]. It is also quite common in Malaysia and Indonesia. The activation of the cancerogenesis process happens after the exposure to some environmental parameters that epidemiological studies have indicated with various dietary habits, mainly for salted fish consumption. The purpose of this work is to highlight such as exposure to compounds, such as formaldehyde, which is present in the different working conditions of these countries and may lead to the real cause to establish the carcinogenic process