A Task-Based Assessment of Parental Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents and Other Compounds and Risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the Offspring

Abstract

A Task-Based Assessment of Parental Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents and Other Compounds and Risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the OffspringAbstract Number:2249 Catherine Metayer*, Ghislaine Scélo, Alice Y. Kang, Robert B. Gunier, Kyndaron Reinier, C. Suzanne Lea, Jeffrey S. Chang, Steve Selvin, Janice Kirsch, Monique Does, Patricia Quinlan, and S. Katharine Hammond Catherine Metayer* University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Ghislaine Scélo International Agency for Research on Cancer, France, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Alice Y. Kang University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Robert B. Gunier University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Kyndaron Reinier Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , C. Suzanne Lea East Carolina University, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Jeffrey S. Chang National Institute of Cancer Research, Taiwan, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Steve Selvin University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Janice Kirsch Medical oncologist and hematologist, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Monique Does University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Patricia Quinlan University of California, San Francisco, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , and S. Katharine Hammond University of California, Berkeley, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author AbstractBackground: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. Studies examining paternal occupational exposures and risk of childhood ALL have mainly relied on job titles lacking specificity.Methods: We examined the relationship between the father’s workplace exposures before and after birth and risk of ALL in the offspring. Children with ALL (n=667) and controls (n=1,020) were enrolled in a population-based case-control study in California (2000-2008). We developed 19 task-based job modules (JMs) based on the prevalence of occupations in the study area and the probability of exposures to carcinogens. Expert assessment was then applied to estimate exposure to organic solvents and other compounds. Unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for socio-demographic factors were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: Of 1,634 fathers, 903 were assigned a JM and 643 (71%) completed the interview (55% Hispanic origin). Occupations were stable over time. Among children with non-Hispanic fathers, no associations were observed with any exposures evaluated. In contrast in children with Hispanic fathers, the OR for exposure to organic solvents was 1.48 (95% CI: 1.01-2.16). In multivariable analyses, the OR for chlorinated hydrocarbons was 2.28 (95% CI: 0.97- 5.37; n=31 exposed cases vs. 17 controls) and close to one for aromatic hydrocarbons, glycol ethers, and other hydrocarbon mixtures. Moderate elevated risks were seen with exposure to combustion exhausts, metals, paints, structural pesticides (data on agricultural pesticides are presented separately), and wood dust, although not statistically significant in univariate or multivariable models.Conclusion: Our data support associations between paternal occupational exposures to known carcinogens contained in organic solvents for children of Hispanic origins, specifically chlorinated hydrocarbons. Explanations for ethnic differences are under investigation.