Abstract
BackgroundSolvents contaminated drinking water supplies at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune during 1950s-1985.MethodsWe conducted a case–control study among Marines to evaluate associations between residential exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune and male breast cancer risk. The study included 71 male breast cancer cases and 373 controls identified from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) cancer registry whose military personnel records were available. Controls were selected from cancers not known to be associated with solvent exposure and included 270 skin cancers, 71 mesotheliomas, and 32 bone cancers. Base assignment and risk factor information came from military personnel and VA records. Groundwater contaminant fate/transport and distribution system models provided monthly estimated residential contaminant levels. We conducted exact logistic regression using the 50th percentile level among exposed controls to create low and high exposure categories. We calculated 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) to indicate precision of effect estimates. Exploratory analyses used proportional hazards methods to evaluate associations between exposures and age at diagnosis.ResultsAfter adjusting for age at diagnosis, race, and service in Vietnam, the odds ratio (OR) for ever stationed at Camp Lejeune was 1.14 (95 % CI: 0.65, 1.97). Adjusted ORs for high residential cumulative exposures to tetrachloroethylene (PCE), t-1,2 dichloroethylene (DCE), and vinyl chloride were 1.20 [95 % CI: 0.16-5.89], 1.50 [95 % CI: 0.30-6.11], 1.19 [95 % CI: 0.16-5.89], respectively, with a monotonic exposure response relationship for PCE only. However these results were based on two or three cases in the high cumulative exposure categories. Ever stationed at Camp Lejeune and high cumulative exposures to trichloroethylene (TCE), PCE, DCE and vinyl chloride were associated with earlier age at onset for male breast cancer; hazard ratios ranged from 1.4-2.7 with wide confidence intervals for cumulative exposure variables.ConclusionFindings suggested possible associations between male breast cancer and being stationed at Camp Lejeune and cumulative exposure to PCE, DCE, and vinyl chloride. TCE, PCE, DCE and vinyl chloride cumulative exposures showed possible associations with earlier age at onset of male breast cancer. However, this study was limited by small numbers of cases in high exposure categories.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-015-0061-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In 1982, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was found to have drinking water supplies contaminated with specific volatile organic compounds including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, and benzene
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether residential exposure to the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune increased the risk of male breast cancer incidence, using cases ascertained through the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR)
We retained this control in analyses comparing those stationed at Camp Lejeune with those never stationed at Camp Lejeune; we excluded this control from analysis evaluating contaminant-specific levels and duration of exposure
Summary
In 1982, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was found to have drinking water supplies contaminated with specific volatile organic compounds including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, and benzene. The present study was prompted by concerns from the affected population that the drinking water exposures at Camp Lejeune may have caused male breast cancer. Several studies have examined the relationship between breast cancer and occupational exposure to solvents. Point estimates above 1 were found in several studies that evaluated female breast cancer and occupational exposure to solvents [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. One study investigated occupational exposure to a wide-range of contaminants including industrial solvents and another study investigated exposure to gasoline and combustion by-products. Solvents contaminated drinking water supplies at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune during 1950s-1985
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