Onderzoek onder een cohort van 889 mannen en 1077 vrouwen die tussen 1946 en 1984 minimaal 1 maand hadden gewerkt voor een voormalig belangrijk asbest(textiel)bedrijf in Italië. De onderzoekers constateerden een directe relatie tussen de asbestblootstellingsduur en de incidentie van asbestgerelateerde longkanker en buikvlieskanker. Er was geen directe relatie tussen de blootstellingsduur en incidentie van longvlieskanker. Zelfs onder werknemers die korter dan een jaar voor het bedrijf hadden gewerkt was de incidentie van longvlieskanker veel hoger dan gemiddeld. Bron: British Journal of Cancer 2005, 92.
Cancer mortality in a cohort of asbestos textile workers
E Pira1, C Pelucchi*,2, L Buffoni1, A Palmas1, M Turbiglio1, E Negri2, PG Piolatto1 and C La Vecchia2,3
A cohort of 889 men and 1077 women employed for at least 1 month between 1946 and 1984 by a former Italian leading asbestos (mainly textile) company, characterised by extremely heavy exposures often for short durations, was followed up to 1996, for a total of 53 024 person-years of observation. Employment data were obtained from factory personnel records, while vital status and causes of death were ascertained through municipality registers and local health units. We observed 222 cancer deaths compared with 116.4 expected (standardized mortality ratio, SMR-191). The highest ratios were found for pleural (SMR-4105), peritoneal (SMR-1817) and lung (SMR-282) cancers. We observed direct relationships with duration of employment for lung and peritoneal cancer, and with time since first employment for lung cancer and mesothelioma. Pleural cancer risk was independent from duration (SMR-3428 for employment o1 year, 7659 for 1-4 years, 2979 for 5-9 years and 2130 for X10 years). Corresponding SMRs for lung cancer were 139, 251, 233 and 531. Nonsignificantly increased ratios were found for ovarian (SMR-261), laryngeal (SMR-238) and oro-pharyngeal (SMR-226) cancers. This study confirms and further quantifies the central role of latency in pleural mesothelioma and of cumulative exposure in lung cancer.
British Journal of Cancer (2005) 92, 580-586. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602240 www.bjcancer.com
& 2005 Cancer Research UK
Keywords: asbestos. cancer mortality. cohort study. lung cancer. mesothelioma