An examination of the association between lifetime history of prostate and pancreatic cancer diagnosis and occupation in a population sample of Canadians.

Smriti Singh,Gabriela Ilie,Anil Adisesh,James Ted Mcdonald,Mark Allen Pershouse

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0227622

Smriti Singh, Gabriela Ilie + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227622

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Abstract

BackgroundOccupation was assessed as possible risk factors for prostate (PCa) and pancreatic cancer in a large Canadian worker cohort.MethodsThe Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) was derived from linking the 1991 Canadian Census Cohort to the Canadian Cancer Database (1969–2010), Canadian Mortality Database (1991–2011), and Tax Summary Files (1981–2011). From the total sample of 1,931,110 persons, we identified and derived two samples of 28,610 men and 3,220 men and women with a past history of PCa and pancreatic cancer diagnoses, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazards ratios and 95% confidence intervals for occupation.ResultsIn Canadian men aged 24–64 years, the highest elevated risks of PCa were observed for library clerks (HR = 2.36, 95% CI:1.12–4.97), medical radiation technologists (HR = 1.66, 95% CI:1.04–2.65), telecommunications and line cable workers (HR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.22–3.16) and commissioned police officers (HR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.10–2.16. The highest elevated risk for pancreatic cancer were observed for commissioned police officers (HR = 4.34, 95% CI: 1.85–10.21), photographic and film processors (HR = 3.97, 95% CI:1.69–9.34), railway and motor transport labourers (HR = 3.94, 95% CI: 1.67–9.29), and computer engineers (HR = 3.82, 95%CI: 1.52–9.61).ConclusionThese findings emphasize the need for further study of job-related exposures and the potential influence of non-occupational factors such as screening practices.

Highlights

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada accounting for about 30% of all deaths [1]
In Canadian men aged 24–64 years, the highest elevated risks of prostate cancer (PCa) were observed for library clerks (HR = 2.36, 95% CI:1.12–4.97), medical radiation technologists (HR = 1.66, 95% CI:1.04–2.65), telecommunications and line cable workers (HR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.22– 3.16) and commissioned police officers
The highest elevated risk for pancreatic cancer were observed for commissioned police officers (HR = 4.34, 95% CI: 1.85–10.21), photographic and film processors (HR = 3.97, 95% CI:1.69–9.34), railway and motor transport labourers (HR = 3.94, 95% CI: 1.67–9.29), and computer engineers (HR = 3.82, 95%CI: 1.52–9.61)

Summary

Introduction

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada accounting for about 30% of all deaths [1]. The number of new cancer cases in Canada is higher among males than females and will as much as almost double among Canadians in the years to come increasing from 80,800 cases in 2003–2007 to 148,400 in 2028–2032 in males and from 74,200 to 128,800 in females [2,3]. These increases are largely due to our aging population and to a lesser extent an increase in population size [3,4]. Occupation was assessed as possible risk factors for prostate (PCa) and pancreatic cancer in a large Canadian worker cohort

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