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Occupational risks for uveal melanoma results from a case-control study in nine European countries

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Abstract

Objective Uveal melanoma is a rare disease with poor prognosis and largely unknown etiology. We studied potential occupational risk factors.

Methods A population based case-control study was undertaken during 1995–1997 in nine European countries using population and colon cancer controls with personal interviews. Occupational exposure to sunlight and artificial UV radiation was assessed with a job exposure matrix. In total, 320 uveal melanoma cases were eligible at pathology review, and 292 cases were interviewed, participation 91%. Out of 3357 population controls, 2062 were interviewed, 61%, and out of 1272 cancer controls 1094 were interviewed, 86%.

Results Using population controls, occupational exposure to sunlight was not associated with an increased risk (RR=1.24, 95% CI=0.88−1.74), while an excess risk found with use of colon cancer controls was attributed to confounding factors. An excess risk in welders was restricted to the French part of the data. Cooks, RR=2.40; cleaners, RR 2.15; and laundry workers, RR=3.14, were at increased risk of uveal melanoma.

Conclusion Our study does overall not support an association between occupational sunlight exposure and risk of uveal melanoma. The finding of an excess risk of eye melanoma in cooks in several European countries is intriguing.

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Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

ICD-O:

International classification of diseases for oncology

ISCO:

International Standard Classification of Occupation

JEM:

Job exposure matrix

NOS:

Not otherwise specified

NR:

Not relevant

Obs:

Observed number of cases

RR:

Relative risk

UK:

United Kingdom

US:

United States

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Registre Genevois des Tumeurs, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jean-Michel Lutz

  2. Queen Alexandra Hospital, Translational Oncology Research Centre, Portsmouth, UK

    Ian Cree

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark

    Svend Sabroe

  4. Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, DK 2200, København N, Denmark

    Tine Kajsa Kvist, Lene Bjørk Clausen & Elsebeth Lynge

  5. Serviço de Bioestatística e Informática Médica, Al. Hernani Monteiro, Porto, Portugal

    Noemia Afonso

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

    Wolfgang Ahrens

  7. The Venetian Tumour Registry, Padua, Italy

    Terri J. Ballard

  8. Thames Cancer Registry, London, UK

    Janine Bell

  9. INSERM Unité 88, Saint Maurice, France

    Diane Cyr

  10. Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Mikael Eriksson

  11. Institut Universitaire de Médecine du Travail, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France

    Joëlle Févotte

  12. INSERM Unité 170, Villejuif, France

    Pascal Guénel

  13. Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden

    Lennart Hardell

  14. Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Clinics of Essen, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Jöckel

  15. Instituto Portuquès de Oncologia de Francisco Gentil, Lisboa, Portugal

    Ana Miranda

  16. Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, University of Turin, CERMS and CPO, Piemonte, Italy

    Franco Merletti

  17. Unit of Public Health, Valencia University, Dr. Peset University Hospital, Spain

    Maria M. Morales-Suarez-Varela

  18. Latvia Cancer Register, Latvia Oncology Centre, Riga, Latvia

    Aivars Stengrevics

Authors
  1. Jean-Michel Lutz
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  2. Ian Cree
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  3. Svend Sabroe
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  4. Tine Kajsa Kvist
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  6. Noemia Afonso
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  7. Wolfgang Ahrens
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  8. Terri J. Ballard
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  9. Janine Bell
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  10. Diane Cyr
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  13. Pascal Guénel
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  14. Lennart Hardell
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  15. Karl-Heinz Jöckel
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  16. Ana Miranda
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  17. Franco Merletti
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  18. Maria M. Morales-Suarez-Varela
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  19. Aivars Stengrevics
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  20. Elsebeth Lynge
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elsebeth Lynge.

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Lutz, JM., Cree, I., Sabroe, S. et al. Occupational risks for uveal melanoma results from a case-control study in nine European countries. Cancer Causes Control 16, 437–447 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-004-5029-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-004-5029-6

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