Annals of Oncology Advance Access published online on August 25, 2006
Annals of Oncology, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdl172
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan, Italy
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been reported in several industries, including those of the aluminum production, coal gasification, coke production, iron and steel foundries, coal tar and related products, carbon black and carbon electrodes production.
Patients and methods: This paper reviews the results from cohort studies conducted on workers exposed to PAHs in these industries, with a focus on cancers of the respiratory and urinary tract.
Results: An excess risk from lung/respiratory cancers was found in most industries, the pooled relative risk (RR) being 2.58 (95% CI 2.28-2.92) for coal gasification, 1.58 (95% CI 1.47-1.69) for coke production, 1.40 (95% CI 1.31-1.49) for iron and steel foundries, 1.51 (95% CI 1.28-1.78) for roofers and 1.30 (95% CI 1.06-1.59) for carbon black production. The evidence for cancers of the bladder and of the urinary system is less consistent, with a significant increased risk only for workers in aluminum production (pooled RR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.12-1.49), coal gasification (pooled RR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.36-4.21), and iron and steel foundries (pooled RR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.57).
Conclusions: Increased risks from lung and bladder cancers were found in PAH-related occupations. These were modest in most industries, apart from those for coal gasification, and whether they are due at least partially to some bias or confounding remains open to discussion.
Received February 9, 2006
Revised April 21, 2006
Accepted June 13, 2006
review
Occupational exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and respiratory and urinary tract cancers: a quantitative review to 2005
C. Bosetti 1 *, P. Boffetta 2, and C. La Vecchia 3
2 International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
3 Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan, Italy; Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Univesità degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
C. Bosetti, E-mail: bosetti{at}marionegri.it
Abstract 
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. B. GRANT Air Pollution in Relation to U.S. Cancer Mortality Rates: An Ecological Study; Likely Role of Carbonaceous Aerosols and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Anticancer Res, September 1, 2009; 29(9): 3537 - 3545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M R Sim, A D. Monaco, J L Hoving, E MacFarlane, D McKenzie, G Benke, N de Klerk, and L Fritschi Mortality and cancer incidence in workers in two Australian prebake aluminium smelters Occup. Environ. Med., July 1, 2009; 66(7): 464 - 470. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. J. Kerr Editor-in- New wave Ann. Onc., January 1, 2008; 19(1): 3 - 4. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|