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Health risks associated with inhaled nasal toxicants
V J Feron1, J H Arts, C F Kuper
1Toxicology Division, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands. v.jferon@freeler.nl
Critical Reviews in Toxicology
|June 19, 2001
Summary
This review highlights health risks from inhaled nasal toxicants, emphasizing human effects like air pollution and smoking. It stresses the need for better animal-to-human extrapolation for nasal toxicants.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology and Environmental Health
- Nasal Health and Respiratory System
- Occupational Health and Safety
Background:
- Inhaled nasal toxicants pose significant health risks, impacting human nasal mucosa and contributing to diseases like sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma.
- Understanding nasal toxicity is crucial due to the nose's role as a primary interface for environmental chemical exposure and its complex defense mechanisms.
- Current knowledge gaps exist in extrapolating animal data to human nasal toxicant risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the health risks associated with inhaled nasal toxicants, focusing on chemically induced nasal lesions and toxicity mechanisms.
- To evaluate the current understanding of nasal immunopathology, neurotoxicology, and carcinogenesis.
- To assess the utility of in vitro models and the extrapolation of animal data to human risk assessment for nasal toxicants.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of chemically induced nasal lesions, sensory irritation, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenesis.
- Analysis of human epidemiological data on air pollution and smoking-related sinonasal cancers.
- Evaluation of in vitro models and animal-to-human extrapolation strategies, including dosimetry and metabolism.
Main Results:
- Outdoor air pollution and tobacco smoking are significant risk factors for nasal mucosal damage and sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma in humans.
- Objective human methods for sensory irritation and olfactory stimulation provide more relevant data than animal studies.
- Biologically based models demonstrate the role of tissue damage and hyperproliferation in formaldehyde-induced nasal carcinogenesis; occupational exposure to mixtures like wood dust or chromium/nickel materials increases nasal cancer risk.
Conclusions:
- Nasal neurotoxicology and immunotoxicology are complex but rapidly advancing fields, offering insights into chemical sensitivity syndromes.
- The particulate nature of inhaled mixtures may be a key factor in their nasal carcinogenicity.
- While in vitro models aid research, in vivo inhalation studies remain essential; strategic extrapolation using dosimetry and metabolism is vital for human risk assessment, though further research on susceptibility factors is needed.