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Cancer incidence in a cohort with high fish consumption

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Abstract

Purpose

Evidence suggests that fish-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit cancer promotion and progression. On the other hand, fish may contain endocrine-disrupting and potentially carcinogenic environmental contaminants. Our objective was to describe cancer incidence among the Finnish professional fishermen and their wives who are presumed to eat a lot of fish, partly from the contaminated Baltic Sea. Additionally, we wanted to see whether occupational characteristics are reflected in the fishermen’s cancer pattern.

Methods

All Finnish fishermen during 1980–2002 were identified from the Professional Fishermen Register (n = 6,410) and their wives from the National Population Information System (n = 4,260). The cohort was linked with the Finnish Cancer Registry data until 2011, and the standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated based on national incidence rates.

Results

The total cancer incidence among the fishermen and their wives was the same as in the Finnish general population. Among the fishermen, the incidence was increased for lip (SIR 2.17, 95 % confidence interval 1.26–3.47) and testis (2.51, 1.15–4.75) and decreased for colon (0.72, 0.52–0.98) cancers.

Conclusions

We cannot exclude the possibility that the observed excess in testis cancer among the fishermen could reflect life-long high exposure to environmental contaminants. An excess in lip cancer has been repeatedly observed among outdoor workers due to high exposure to ultraviolet radiation, whereas high physical activity during fishing is the most likely explanation for the deficit in colon cancer.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Jan Ivar Martinsen from the Cancer Registry of Norway for re-calculating the results for the NOCCA study. This work was financially supported by the Academy of Finland [Grant Numbers 77008, 205324, 206950, and 124286], the Finnish Cancer Organisations, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, and the Juho Vainio Foundation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, FI-70701, Kuopio, Finland

    Anu W. Turunen, Anna L. Suominen & Hannu Kiviranta

  2. Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Anna L. Suominen

  3. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Anna L. Suominen

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

    Pia K. Verkasalo

  5. School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Eero Pukkala

  6. Institute for Statistical and Epidemiological Cancer Research, Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, Finland

    Eero Pukkala

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  1. Anu W. Turunen
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  2. Anna L. Suominen
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  3. Hannu Kiviranta
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  4. Pia K. Verkasalo
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  5. Eero Pukkala
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Correspondence to Anu W. Turunen.

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Turunen, A.W., Suominen, A.L., Kiviranta, H. et al. Cancer incidence in a cohort with high fish consumption. Cancer Causes Control 25, 1595–1602 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0464-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0464-5

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