Review article
Brain tumor and exposure to pesticides in humans: a review of the epidemiologic data

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Abstract

We examined the relationship between exposure to pesticides and the subsequent development of brain tumors in adults through a critical review of the literature. The results of retrospective case-control studies are conflicting, in part because of biases in the selection of patients and controls, poor definition and ascertainment of the nature and extent of the exposure to pesticides, and a non-uniform approach to the collection of antecedent information. A number of the studies evaluated farmers as a group exposed to pesticides; however, inference about cancer incidence in farmers may reflect not only their possible exposure to pesticides, but also exposure to petrochemical products, exhaust fumes, mineral and organic dusts, and biological exposure to animals and microbes. The great majority of the cohort studies of chemical workers employed in the manufacture of pesticides did not indicate an excess of brain cancer mortality. There have been few cohort studies of pesticide applicators and these revealed elevated but non-significant relative risks for excess mortality due to brain cancer. Existing data are insufficient to conclude that exposure to pesticides is a clear risk factor for brain tumors. Given the conflicting results reported for farmers and pesticide applicators and their contrast to chemical workers, it seems more plausible that exposure to multiple agents and/or other factors, such as genetic predisposition, are most relevant with respect to brain tumor pathogenesis.

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      Also in US, the Agricultural Health Study, one of the largest studies of pesticide exposure and its impacts on human health, noted a higher mortality from cancers of the brain and central nervous system among pesticide users (SMR: 1.42, 95% CI 1.10–1.83) (Waggoner et al., 2011). The association of agricultural occupation and the development of brain tumors is controversial (Bohnen and Kurland, 1995). The results of this study reflect the findings of other analytical case–control studies, which found an increased risk of brain tumors in farm workers, suggesting that exposure to pesticides as a major contributor (Musicco et al., 1982, 1988; Khuder et al., 1998; Provost et al., 2007; Ruder et al., 2009).

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