K-RAS MUTATIONS IN SINONASAL ADENOCARCINOMAS IN PATIENTS OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED TO WOOD OR LEATHER DUST

Of 39 males diagnosed with sinonasal adenocarcinomas over 30 years in the Lund University Hospital catchment area (1.5 million inhabitants), archival tumor tissue was available from 29. Of these, 16 had been ex posed to wood dust and three had been exposed to leather dust, The int estinal-type and papillary adenocarcinomas were more common in the exp osed patients (P = 0.0002, Fisher's exact test). The tumors from all b ut one of the 29 sinonasal adenocarcinomas could be analyzed for point mutations at codons 12, 13 and 61 of the K-ras gene. Four mutations w ere detected in the 28 tumors. The three mutations in the patients exp osed to wood and leather dust were all G:C --> A:T transitions, with t wo at position 2 of codon 12 and one at position 2 of codon 13. The hi gh proportion of G:C --> A:T mutations in this rare tumor may reflect a genotoxic agent in wood and leather dust. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.