Incidence of lymphohaematopoietic malignancies in a petrochemical industry cohort: 1983-94 follow up
Wendy W Huebnera, Vivien W Chenb, Barry R Friedlanderc, Xiao C Wub, Gail Jorgensena, Faiyaz A Bhojanid, Craig H Friedmanne, Beth A Schmidtb, Eugene A Salesa, Javed A Joyb, Catherine N Correab
a Epidemiology and
Health Surveillance, Exxon Biomedical Sciences, 1545 Route 22, PO Box
971, Annandale, New Jersey 08801-0971, USA, b Louisiana
Tumor Registry, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine,
Louisiana State University Medical Center, 1600 Canal Street, Box 106, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA, c Princeton Health Data, Princeton, NJ, USA, d Medical
and Occupational Health Department, Exxon Corporation, Houston, Texas,
USA, e International Medical
and Occupational Health Department, Exxon Corporation, Florham Park,
NJ, USA
Correspondence to: Dr W W Huebner wwhuebn{at}erenj.com
Accepted 18 May 2000
OBJECTIVES
In
response to a previous finding of increased mortality from
lymphohaematopoietic (LH) malignancies, this study examines incidence
of LH malignancy in a petrochemical industry cohort. Emphasis is on
chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and on comparisons by period of
first employment.
METHODThe study
cohort consists of 8942 employees who were active in the period
1970-92 and alive on 31 December 1982. Record linkage with the
Louisiana tumour registry (LTR) provided information on cancer for
cases occurring between 1983 and 1994. Standardised incidence ratios
(SIR), with the south Louisiana population as a comparison, were
computed for all cancers, all LH malignancies and specific LH subtypes.
Analyses were conducted for sex and race categories, and by period of
first employment, job type, duration of employment, and latency.
RESULTS672 Cases of
cancer were identified, including 59 LH malignancies. Women (n=1169)
had an overall cancer SIR below unity and four LH malignancies versus
2.28 expected. Among the 7773 men, those first employed before 1950 had
no overall cancer excess, a significant 1.4-fold increase in overall LH
malignancies (43 observed versus 30.78 expected), and four CLL cases
versus 3.27 expected. Findings for men first employed after 1950 are
based on fewer cases, but there was no indication of excesses of
overall cancer or LH malignancy. Numbers were too small in the group
first employed after 1950 for meaningful analysis of LH malignancy
subtypes such as CLL (one case).
CONCLUSIONThese
findings do not suggest a continuing excess of CLL but do suggest a
small increase in incidence of overall LH malignancy for workers first
employed before 1950. This may reflect associations with earlier
workplace conditions, although work related patterns are mixed.
Interpretation is limited by the diverse group of diseases within LH
malignancies, and the lack of control for non-work factors other than
sex, age, race, and period of diagnosis. This study has a major
advantage of more complete and reliable cancer ascertainment compared
with the mortality investigation, and shows the feasibility and
benefits of using cancer registry incidence data in an occupational cohort study.
Keywords: petroleum industry; lymphohaematopoietic; chronic lymphocytic leukaemia; incidence
© 2000 by Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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