Hardwood and softwood dust. Evaluation of the carcinogenicity and genotoxicity

Hardwood dust is a human carcinogen; upon inhalation it can cause sinonasal adenocarcinoma. Whether it is able to induce other tumours, especially nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a cancer deeper down the airways, is unresolved, but the outcome of a meta-analysis suggests that it is. Softwood, on the other hand, is suspected of carcinogenic properties. The epidemiological data available suggest that it can cause sinonasal squamous-cell carcinoma.