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Incidence of lymphohaematopoietic cancer at a university laboratory: a cluster investigation

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Abstract

We investigated a suspected cluster of lymphohaematopoietic cancer in departments of biology and chemistry at a Norwegian university. A historical cohort of students and employees (n = 7,189) were followed for cancer for 96,936 person-years in the Cancer Registry of Norway. Overall, 12 cases of lymphohaematopoietic cancer were identified, which was close to the expected number (standardised incidence ratio 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6–1.9). The SIR for leukaemia was 1.8 (95% CI 0.6–4.2) whereas incidences for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease incidence were close to the expected. Distinct rate differences were observed in subgroups, and the strongest adjusted associations were found for Ph.D. students (rate ratio (RR) = 4.8, 95% CI 1.1–20.3) and students who participated in basic organic chemistry laboratory course (RR = 4.4, 95% CI 1.2–18.8). The latter category was identified a priori because it was the only student activity with known use of benzene according to the university administration. This is an observational study with some limitations, and hence, caution is warranted when drawing inferences on the causal relationship between university activities and cancers under study. The study provides an example that cluster investigations can answer questions of public importance despite a more limited value regarding causal inference.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jan Ivar Martinsen at the Cancer Registry of Norway for file linkage and the establishment of national reference rates, and Hoang Tran, National Institute of Occupational Health, for help in establishing the project in early stages. We acknowledge the help of Per E. Kjøl, NTNU, for delivering the files of students and employees and for being a link to the other parties involved, and Anne-Beth Holte, NTNU, for her help in quality control of the working files. Competing interests K. Svendsen is currently employed by NTNU, and B. Hilt is part time employed by NTNU. NTNU provided limited financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Occupational Health, Gydas vei 8, P.O. Box 8149, 0361, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Kristensen

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Section for Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Kristensen

  3. Department for Occupational Medicine, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Bjørn Hilt & Kristin Svendsen

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

    Bjørn Hilt

  5. Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Department of Industrial Economy and Technology Management, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

    Kristin Svendsen

  6. Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway

    Tom K. Grimsrud

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  1. Petter Kristensen
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  2. Bjørn Hilt
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  3. Kristin Svendsen
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  4. Tom K. Grimsrud
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Correspondence to Petter Kristensen.

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Kristensen, P., Hilt, B., Svendsen, K. et al. Incidence of lymphohaematopoietic cancer at a university laboratory: a cluster investigation. Eur J Epidemiol 23, 11–15 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9203-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9203-5

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