Economic activities, occupational, environmental and additive exposures to benzene and the development of acute myeloid leukemia

Actividades económicas, laborales, ambientales y aditivas con exposición a benceno y el desarrollo de leucemia mieloide aguda

Introduction: Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon obtained by distillation of tar used in gas stations and as an industrial solvent, classified as a carcinogen by occupational and environmental exposure. It is related with the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mainly due to its absorption by inhalation and hepatic metabolism producing highly-lipid soluble benzoquinone allowing it to deposit in bone marrow and fatty tissue. Objective: to analyze the association of forms of exposure including economic activities, type of workplace, environmental and additive exposure with the development of AML. Material and Methods: systematic review of the literature in Medline, Embase, Lilacs, Cochrane Library, Toxnet and OpenGrey databases in English and Spanish, using the terms benzene, cancer, leukemia, occupational and environmental exposure. Results: most studies show a causal relationship between benzene exposure and AML development, predominantly in work settings, followed by environmental factors including additive sources such as cigarette smoke. Conclusions: we found evidence of an association between occupational and/or environmental exposure to benzene and the development of AML, for it alters oxidative stress and aryl hydrocarbon deregulation inducing cytogenetic aberrations, genetic mutations and epigenetic changes expressed as hematotoxicity and leukemia development

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