Occup Environ Med 2000;57:316-324 ( May )

Occupational exposures and pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

I Anneli Ojajärvi^a, Timo J Partanen^a, Anders Ahlbom^b, Paolo Boffetta^d, Timo Hakulinen^f, Nadia Jourenkova^g, Timo P Kauppinen^a, Manolis Kogevinas^h, Miquel Porta^h, Harri U Vainio^e, Elisabete Weiderpass^c, Catharina H Wesseling^{b i}

^a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenk 41A, 00250 Helsinki, Finland, ^b Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, ^c Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, ^d Unit of Environmental Cancer Epidemiology, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, ^e Unit of Chemoprevention, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, ^f Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, Finland, ^g Institut National de la Santé et de la Reserche Médicale, Villejuif, France, ^h Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica, Barcelona, Spain, ⁱ Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica

Correspondence to: Dr Anneli Ojajärvi aoja{at}occuphealth.fi

Accepted 30 December 1999

OBJECTIVESConsolidation of epidemiological data on pancreatic cancer and worksite exposures.
METHODSPublications during 1969-98 were surveyed. Studies without verified exposures were excluded. Meta-analyses were conducted on data from 92 studies covering 161 populations, with results for 23 agents or groups of agents. With a standard format, five epidemiologists extracted risk estimates and variables of the structure and quality of each study. The extracted data were centrally checked. Random meta-models were applied.
RESULTSBased on 20 populations, exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) solvents and related compounds was associated with a meta-risk ratio (MRR) of 1.4 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.0 to 1.8). Nickel and nickel compounds were considered in four populations (1.9; 1.2 to 3.2). Excesses were found also for chromium and chromium compounds (1.4; 0.9 to 2.3), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (1.5; 0.9 to 2.5), organochlorine insecticides (1.5; 0.6 to 3.7), silica dust (1.4; 0.9 to 2.0), and aliphatic and alicyclic hydrocarbon solvents (1.3; 0.8 to 2.8). Evidence on pancreatic carcinogenicity was weak or non-positive for the following agents: acrylonitrile (1.1; 0.0 to 6.2); arsenic (1.0; 0.6 to 1.5); asbestos (1.1; 0.9 to 1.5); diesel engine exhaust (1.0; 0.9 to 1.3); electromagnetic fields (1.1; 0.8 to 1.4); formaldehyde (0.8; 0.5 to 1.0); flour dust (1.1; 0.3 to 3.2); cadmium and cadmium compounds (0.7; 0.4 to 1.4); gasoline (1.0; 0.8 to 1.2); herbicides (1.0; 0.8 to 1.3); iron and iron compounds (1.3; 0.7 to 2.5); lead and lead compounds (1.1; 0.8 to 1.5); man-made vitreous fibres (1.0; 0.6 to 1.6); oil mist (0.9; 0.8 to 1.0); and wood dust (1.1; 0.9 to 2.5). The occupational aetiological fraction of pancreatic cancer was estimated at 12%. In a subpopulation exposed to CHC solvents and related compounds, it was 29%; to chromium and chromium compounds, 23%; to nickel and nickel compounds, 47%; to insecticides, 33%; and to PAHs, 33%.
CONCLUSIONOccupational exposures may increase risk of pancreatic cancer. High quality studies are called for on interactions between occupational, environmental, and lifestyle factors as well as interactions between genes and the environment.


Keywords: pancreatic cancer; occupational exposure; meta-analysis

---

© 2000 by Occupational and Environmental Medicine
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Porta, M., Lopez, T., Pumarega, J., Jariod, M., Crous-Bou, M., Marco, E., Rifa, J., Grimalt, J. O., Malats, N., Real, F. X., for the PANKRAS II Study Group, (2009). In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma blood concentrations of some organochlorine compounds and coffee intake are independently associated with KRAS mutations. Mutagenesis 24: 513-521 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Soliman, A. S., Lo, A.-C., Banerjee, M., El-Ghawalby, N., Khaled, H. M., Bayoumi, S., Seifeldin, I. A., Abdel-Aziz, A., Abbruzzese, J. L., Greenson, J. K., Hamilton, S. R. (2007). Differences in K-ras and p53 gene mutations among pancreatic adenocarcinomas associated with regional environmental pollution. Carcinogenesis 28: 1794-1799 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Li, W, Ray, R M, Gao, D L, Fitzgibbons, E D, Seixas, N S, Camp, J E, Wernli, K J, Astrakianakis, G, Feng, Z, Thomas, D B, Checkoway, H (2006). Occupational risk factors for pancreatic cancer among female textile workers in Shanghai, China. Occup. Environ. Med. 63: 788-793 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Costa, C., Teixeira, J. P., Silva, S., Roma-Torres, J., Coelho, P., Gaspar, J., Alves, M., Laffon, B., Rueff, J., Mayan, O. (2006). Cytogenetic and molecular biomonitoring of a Portuguese population exposed to pesticides. Mutagenesis 21: 343-350 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shen, M., Boffetta, P., Olsen, J. H., Andersen, A., Hemminki, K., Pukkala, E., Tracey, E., Brewster, D. H., McBride, M. L., Pompe-Kirn, V., Kliewer, E. V., Tonita, J. M., Chia, K.-S., Martos, C., Jonasson, J. G., Colin, D., Scelo, G., Brennan, P. (2006). A Pooled Analysis of Second Primary Pancreatic Cancer. Am J Epidemiol 163: 502-511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Yoshizawa, K., Marsh, T., Foley, J. F., Cai, B., Peddada, S., Walker, N. J., Nyska, A. (2005). Mechanisms of Exocrine Pancreatic Toxicity Induced by Oral Treatment with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin in Female Harlan Sprague-Dawley Rats. Toxicol Sci 85: 594-606 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Van Maele-Fabry, G, Willems, J L (2003). Occupation related pesticide exposure and cancer of the prostate: a meta-analysis. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: 634-642 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Alguacil, J, Pollan, M, Gustavsson, P (2003). Occupations with increased risk of pancreatic cancer in the Swedish population. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: 570-576 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Risch, H. A. (2003). Etiology of Pancreatic Cancer, With a Hypothesis Concerning the Role of N-Nitroso Compounds and Excess Gastric Acidity. JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst 95: 948-960 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Alguacil, J., Porta, M., Malats, N., Kauppinen, T., Kogevinas, M., Benavides, F. G., Partanen, T., Carrato, A. (2002). Occupational exposure to organic solvents and K-ras mutations in exocrine pancreatic cancer. Carcinogenesis 23: 101-106 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ojajarvi, A., Partanen, T., Ahlbom, A., Boffetta, P., Hakulinen, T., Jourenkova, N., Kauppinen, T., Kogevinas, M., Vainio, H., Weiderpass, E., Wesseling, C. (2001). Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in Workers Exposed to Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Solvents and Related Compounds: A Meta-Analysis. Am J Epidemiol 153: 841-850 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Alguacil, J., Porta, M., Benavides, F. G, Malats, N., Kogevinas, M., Fernandez, E., Carrato, A., Rifa, J., Guarner, L. (2000). Occupation and pancreatic cancer in Spain: a case-control study based on job titles. Int J Epidemiol 29: 1004-1013 [Abstract] [Full Text]  

eLetters:

Read all eLetters

Excess pancreatic cancer risk and exposure to nickel and nickel compounds

Steven K Seilkop

Occup Environ Med Online, 20 Oct 2000 [Full text]

Author's reply to occupational exposures and pancreatic cancer: a meta-analysis

Anneli Ojajarvi, et al.

Occup Environ Med Online, 3 Nov 2000 [Full text]