Bladder tumors in two young males occupationally exposed to MBOCA.
MBOCA (4,4' methylenebis (2-chloroaniline) is a structural analogue of benzidine and is carcinogenic in mice, rats, and dogs. MBOCA has not yet been demonstrated to be carcinogenic in humans and is not regulated as an occupational carcinogen in the United States. We report two noninvasive papillary tumors of the bladder identified in a screening study of 540 workers exposed to MBOCA during its production at a Michigan chemical plant from 1968 to 1979. Both tumors occurred in men under 30 years old who had never smoked. Although the prevalence of grade 1-2 tumors among asymptomatic males in this age group is unknown, the incidence of clinically apparent tumors on U.S. males aged 25-29 is only 1 per 100,000 per year. The detection of the two tumors in young, nonsmoking males is consistent with the hypothesis that MBOCA induces bladder neoplasms in humans.
Ward
E
E
Industrywide Studies Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
Halperin
W
W
Thun
M
M
Grossman
H B
HB
Fink
B
B
Koss
L
L
Osorio
A M
AM
Schulte
P
P
D000328:Adult; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D003558:Cystoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008753:Methylenebis(chloroaniline) / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology
D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D008753:Methylenebis(chloroaniline)