Occupational sunlight exposure and risk of renal cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Recent findings indicate that vitamin D obtained from ultraviolet (UV) exposure may reduce the risk of several different cancers. Vitamin D is metabolized to its active form within the kidney, which is the major organ for vitamin D metabolism and activity. Because both the incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency have increased over the past few decades, in the current study, the authors explored whether occupational UV exposure was associated with RCC risk.


METHODS
A hospital-based, case-control study of 1097 patients with RCC (cases) and 1476 controls was conducted in 4 Central and Eastern European countries. Demographic and occupational information was collected to examine the association between occupational UV exposure and RCC risk.


RESULTS
A significant reduction (24%-38%) in the risk of RCC was observed with increasing occupational UV exposure among men who participated in the study. No association between UV exposure and RCC risk was observed among women who participated. When the analyses were stratified by latitude as another estimate of sunlight intensity, a stronger reduction (71%-73%) in the risk of RCC was observed between UV exposure and cancer risk among men who resided at the highest latitudes.


CONCLUSIONS
The current results suggested that, among men, there is an inverse association between occupational UV exposure and the risk of RCC. Replication studies are warranted to confirm these results.
Karami
Sara
S
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. karamis@mail.nih.gov
Boffetta
Paolo
P
Stewart
Patricia
P
Rothman
Nathaniel
N
Hunting
Katherine L
KL
Dosemeci
Mustafa
M
Berndt
Sonja I
SI
Brennan
Paul
P
Chow
Wong-Ho
WH
Moore
Lee E
LE
D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D013472:Sunlight; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications