Chromosome Translocations in Workers Exposed to Benzene

As benzene has been linked with elevated risk of both acute myeloid leukemia and lymphoma, we explored the effect of benzene exposure on levels of t(8;21), t(15;17), and t(14;18) translocations. Circulating lymphocytes of normal individuals also often contain t(14;18). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that 37 workers with benzene exposure had a decreased level of t(14;18) in their blood with only 16.2% having 10 or more copies of the t(14;18) BCL-2/IgH fusion gene/microg DNA, as opposed to 55% of 20 controls (P = .0063 by Fisher's exact test). This decline may be related to the immunotoxicity to specific subtypes of circulating B-lymphocytes, but the data do not support the use of t(14;18) as a biomarker of increased lymphoma risk in benzene-exposed populations. None of 88 individuals (31 controls and 57 exposed) exhibited detectable t(8;21) transcripts, and while t(15;17) transcripts were detected in two individuals, the result is inconclusive as one was exposed and the other was unexposed.