Abstract
BackgroundSeveral industries entailing exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known or suspected carcinogens. A handful of studies have assessed the role of PAHs exposure in prostate cancer risk, but none has examined tumor aggressiveness or the influence of screening practices and detection issues. We aimed to examine the association between lifetime occupational exposure to PAHs and prostate cancer risk.MethodsDetailed work histories were collected from 1,929 prostate cancer cases (436 aggressive) and 1,994 controls from Montreal, Canada (2005–2012). Industrial hygienists applied the hybrid expert approach to assign intensity, frequency and certainty of exposure to benzo[a]pyrene, PAHs from wood, coal, petroleum, other sources, and any source, in each job held. Odds ratios (ORs) for prostate cancer risk associated with lifetime PAHs exposure, adjusted for age, ancestry, education, lifestyle and occupational factors, and 95% confidence intervals (CI), were estimated using unconditional logistic regression.ResultsAfter restriction to probable and definite exposures, and application of a 5-year lag, no clear association emerged for any of the PAHs, although small excesses in risk were apparent with 5-year increments in exposure to PAHs from wood (OR = 1.06, 95%CI 0.95 to 1.18). While analyses by cancer aggressiveness suggested no major differences, some elevated risk of high-grade cancer was observed for exposure to PAHs from wood (OR = 1.37, 95%CI 0.65 to 2.89), frequently occurring among firefighters.ConclusionFindings provide weak support for an association between occupational exposure to PAHs from wood and prostate cancer risk.
Highlights
In the two decades, around 11 million news cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed worldwide [1]
We explored the timing of occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) over the course of the participants’ careers— that is, whether the last job entailing exposure to PAHs had been held within the 10 years prior to the index date or further in the past
All analyses were adjusted for factors that we identified as potential confounders with a causal directed acyclic graph: age at diagnosis/interview, ancestry (Sub-Saharan, Asian, French, Other European, Greater Middle Eastern, Latino, other), educational level, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, body mass index, ever consumption of fried or grilled food, cumulative occupational exposure to benzene, ever farming and workplace environmental tobacco smoke
Summary
In the two decades, around 11 million news cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed worldwide [1]. The descriptive epidemiology of cancer of the prostate, a hormone-dependant organ [3], strongly suggests that non-genetic influences are at play [4,5,6]; genetic factors would only explain about one third of familial risk. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a family of over 100 chemicals, generally found in complex. The workplace remains a major source of PAHs exposure and several industries entailing high exposure to mixtures of PAHs are known or suspected carcinogens to humans [10]. Several industries entailing exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known or sus‐ pected carcinogens. A handful of studies have assessed the role of PAHs exposure in prostate cancer risk, but none has examined tumor aggressiveness or the influence of screening practices and detection issues. We aimed to exam‐ ine the association between lifetime occupational exposure to PAHs and prostate cancer risk
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