Oesophageal carcinoma in a married couple following long-term exposure to dry cleaning agents
- Department of Surgery, Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland
- Correspondence to Professor T N Walsh, Department of Surgery, Academic Centre, Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin-15, Ireland; tnwalsh{at}indigo.ie
- Accepted 9 November 2011
- Published Online First 6 December 2011
Occupational exposure to environmental carcinogens is a risk factor for the development of carcinoma of a number of organs. We report the case of a married couple, both of whom developed oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (oSCC) following occupational exposure to perchloroethylene (PERC) over a 30-year period.
Idiopathic oSCC is not uncommon, but when it occurs in a husband and wife who worked in, and lived above, their own dry cleaning business, an active dry cleaning agent must be considered as the potential aetiological factor.
A 65-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of dyspepsia and epigastric pain without dysphagia or weight loss. He owned …
