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Occupational Exposure to Vinyl Chloride, Acrylonitrile and Styrene and Lung Cancer Risk (Europe)

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Abstract

Several industry-based cohort studies have addressed the risk of lung cancer following exposure to vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile and styrene, with inconsistent results and usually without smoking adjustment. These exposures are addressed here in a large case–control study with full adjustment for smoking.

Almost 6000 subjects were included in a case–control study conducted in seven European countries. For each job they held, local experts assessed the exposure to a number of occupational agents, including vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile and styrene, on the basis of detailed occupational questionnaires. Information on tobacco consumption and other risk factors was also collected.

The odds ratio (OR) for ever exposure to vinyl chloride was 1.05 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.68–1.62) and a modest, non-significant increase in the risk of lung cancer was found in the highest exposed subgroup. The OR for ever exposure to acrylonitrile was 2.20 (95% CI: 1.11–4.36) with a positive dose–response relationship between estimated cumulative exposure and lung cancer risk. No association between exposure to styrene and lung cancer risk was found. In conclusion, we cannot exclude a weak association between occupational exposure to vinyl chloride and lung cancer risk. Exposure to acrylonitrile was associated in our study with risk of lung cancer. Exposure to styrene does not seem to increase lung cancer risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, 69008, France

    Ghislaine Scélo, Andrea 't Mannetje, Paul Brennan & Paolo Boffetta

  2. Unit of Environmental Cancer Epidemiology, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, 69008, Lyon, France

    Ghislaine Scélo

  3. Institute of Hygiene, Public Health, Health Services and Management, Bucharest, Romania

    Vali Constantinescu & Irma Csiki

  4. Institute of Carcinogenesis, Cancer Research Center, Moscow, Russia

    David Zaridze

  5. Department of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland

    Neonila Szeszenia-Dabrowska

  6. National Institute of Environmental Health, Budapest, Hungary

    Peter Rudnai

  7. Cancer Center and M. Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland

    Jolanta Lissowska

  8. Department of Occupational Health, Specialized State Health Institute, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia

    Eleono´ra Fabiánová

  9. Roy Castle International Centre for Lung Cancer Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Adrian Cassidy

  10. Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

    Alena Slamova

  11. Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Masaryk Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lenka Foretova

  12. Department of Preventive Medicine, Palacky University of Medicine, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Vladimir Janout

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

    Joelle Fevotte

  14. Public and Environmental Health Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Tony Fletcher

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  1. Ghislaine Scélo
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  2. Vali Constantinescu
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  8. Eleono´ra Fabiánová
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  11. Lenka Foretova
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  12. Vladimir Janout
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  13. Joelle Fevotte
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  14. Tony Fletcher
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  15. Andrea 't Mannetje
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  16. Paul Brennan
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  17. Paolo Boffetta
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Correspondence to Ghislaine Scélo.

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Scélo, G., Constantinescu, V., Csiki, I. et al. Occupational Exposure to Vinyl Chloride, Acrylonitrile and Styrene and Lung Cancer Risk (Europe). Cancer Causes Control 15, 445–452 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CACO.0000036444.11655.be

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