Temporal aspects of occupational bladder carcinogenesis.

Abstract

Temporal aspects of occupationally induced bladder cancer were estimated with data from a case–control study in eastern Massachusetts. A total incidence series of men with bladder cancer were the cases, and an age-matched sample of men selected at random from the general population were the controls. The younger a man is when he begins employment in a hazardous occupation, the higher his risk of bladder cancer. Men first employed in a hazardous occupation by the age of 25 have a risk 2.4 times that of men never so employed. Virtually no excess risk is apparent for men first employed in such occupations after the age of 25. Risk of occupational bladder cancer is greatest 41 to 50 years after beginning employment in a hazardous occupation, the "latent period." There is no change in risk with increasing duration of employment in such occupations. However, it appears that increased duration of employment in a hazardous occupation is associated with a shortened latent period. (N Engl J Med 288:1040–1043, 1973)