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Asbestos exposure and malignant lymphoma: a multicenter case–control study in Germany and Italy

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Abstract

Aims

To analyze the relationship between asbestos exposure and malignant lymphoma in a multicenter case–control study conducted in Germany and Italy according to a common core protocol.

Methods

Male and female patients with malignant lymphoma (n = 1,034) between 18 and 80 years of age were prospectively recruited in six study areas in Germany (Ludwigshafen/Upper Palatinate, Heidelberg/Rhine-Neckar-County, Würzburg/Lower Frankonia, Hamburg, Bielefeld/East Westphalia, and Munich) and in two study areas in Sardinia, Italy (Cagliari and Nuoro provinces). A total of 1,173 population control subjects were drawn from population registers. In a structured personal interview, we elicited a complete occupational history, including every occupational period that lasted at least 1 year. On the basis of job task-specific supplementary questionnaires, trained experts assessed the exposure to asbestos. As a measure of cumulative asbestos exposure on a time by intensity scale, fiber-years were calculated. 12 cases (1.2%) and 12 control subjects (1.0%) had a cumulative asbestos exposure of more than 2.6 fiber-years (highest exposure category according to the 90th percentile of exposed control subjects). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using unconditional logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex and study region. Patients with specific lymphoma sub-entities were additionally compared with the entire control group.

Results

We observed no statistically significant association between cumulative asbestos exposure and the risk of any lymphoma subtype. An elevated risk was found for the association between exposure to more than 2.6 fiber-years and multiple myeloma (OR = 6.0; 95% CI 1.4–25.1); however, numbers were small (n = 3 cases, all of them from Italy; n = 12 control subjects).

Conclusions

Our study does not support an association between asbestos exposure and risk of malignant lymphoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Nöldnerstr. 40-42, 10317, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Seidler & Karin Rossnagel

  2. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Nikolaus Becker, Alexandra Nieters & Evelin Deeg

  3. Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, University of Gießen, Giessen, Germany

    Rolf Arhelger

  4. Institute of Occupational Medicine, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Birte Mester & Gine Elsner

  5. Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine, Bremen, Germany

    Birte Mester

  6. Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Section, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Massimo Melis, Simonetta Sesler, Giuseppe Avataneo, Michele Meloni & Pierluigi Cocco

Authors
  1. Andreas Seidler
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  2. Nikolaus Becker
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  3. Alexandra Nieters
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  4. Rolf Arhelger
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  5. Birte Mester
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  6. Karin Rossnagel
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  7. Evelin Deeg
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  8. Gine Elsner
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  9. Massimo Melis
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  10. Simonetta Sesler
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  11. Giuseppe Avataneo
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  12. Michele Meloni
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  13. Pierluigi Cocco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Seidler.

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Seidler, A., Becker, N., Nieters, A. et al. Asbestos exposure and malignant lymphoma: a multicenter case–control study in Germany and Italy. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 83, 563–570 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-009-0502-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-009-0502-x

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