How benzene exposure leads to multiple myeloma
Benzene travels from the lungs or skin into the bloodstream and concentrates in the bone marrow, where it damages blood-forming stem cells and disrupts normal plasma cell development. Its metabolites cause chromosomal abnormalities and DNA mutations that accumulate in the cells that would otherwise mature into healthy immune components.
Positive associations between benzene and multiple myeloma have also been reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in occupational studies, including a large review that reported elevated myeloma mortality among exposed worker populations and exposure-response relationships in cohorts with higher cumulative exposures.
Studies in the petroleum, refinery, and transportation industries have also reported elevated risks of plasma cell disorders, in addition to other lymphoid malignancies, among long-term benzene-exposed workers.
Maritime workers encounter benzene through crude oil and petroleum cargo handling, fuel vapor inhalation in enclosed vessel compartments, engine room operations, and tank cleaning work. Years of repeated exposure in poorly ventilated shipboard environments can produce a significant cumulative benzene burden concentrated directly in the tissue where myeloma develops.