Surveillance of nasal and bladder cancer to locate sources of exposure to occupational carcinogens.
OBJECTIVE
To locate sources of occupational exposure to nasal and bladder carcinogens for surveillance follow up in British Columbia, Canada.


METHODS
Incident cases of nasal cancer (n = 48), bladder cancer (n = 105), and population based controls (n = 159) matched for sex and age, were interviewed about their jobs, exposures, and smoking histories. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for 57 occupational groups with stratified exact methods to control for age, sex, and smoking.


RESULTS
Occupational groups at increased risk of nasal cancer included: textile workers (six cases, OR 7.6); miners, drillers, and blasters (six cases, OR 3.5); welders (two cases, OR 3.5); pulp and paper workers (three cases, OR 3.1); and plumbers and pipefitters (two cases, OR 3.0). Nasal cancer ORs were not increased in occupations exposed to wood dust, possibly due to low exposures in local wood industries. Strongly increased risks of bladder cancer were found for sheet metal workers (four cases, OR 5.3), miners (19 cases, OR 4.5), gardeners (six cases, OR 3.7), and hairdressers (three cases, OR 3.2). Among occupations originally considered at risk, the following had increased risks of bladder cancer: painters (four cases, OR 2.8); laundry workers (five cases, OR 2.3); chemical and petroleum workers (15 cases, OR 1.8); machinists (eight cases, OR 1.6); and textile workers (three cases, OR 1.5).


CONCLUSIONS
Occupational groups with increased risks and three or more cases with similar duties were selected for surveillance follow up. For nasal cancer, these included textile workers (five were garment makers) and pulp and paper workers (three performed maintenance tasks likely to entail stainless steel welding). For bladder cancer, these included miners (12 worked underground), machinists (five worked in traditional machining), hairdressers (three had applied hair dyes), and laundry workers (three were drycleaners).
Teschke
K
K
Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, Univesity of British Columbia, Vanconver, Canada.
Morgan
M S
MS
Checkoway
H
H
Franklin
G
G
Spinelli
J J
JJ
van Belle
G
G
Weiss
N S
NS
D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009790:Occupations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology
D002273:Carcinogens