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Review and Meta-analysis of Risk Estimates for Prostate Cancer in Pesticide Manufacturing Workers

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present paper is to review cohort studies that examined the occurrence of prostate cancer in pesticide manufacturing workers in order to undertake a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the risk as well as to assess the level of epidemiological evidence for each class of chemical compounds.

Methods

Following a systematic literature search, relative risk (RR) estimates for prostate cancer were extracted from 18 studies published between 1984 and 2004. All studies were summarised and evaluated for homogeneity and publication bias. As no significant heterogeneity was detected, combined RR estimators were calculated using a fixed effect model. Meta-analyses were performed both on the whole set of data and for each chemical class separately.

Results

The meta-rate ratio estimate for all studies was 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–1.58]. After stratification by specific chemical class, consistent increases in the risk of prostate cancer were found in all groups but statistical significance was found only for accidental or non-accidental exposure to phenoxy herbicides contaminated with dioxins and furans. There was no obvious indication of publication bias.

Conclusion

The overall meta-analysis provides additional quantitative evidence consistent with prior reviews focusing on other groups exposed to pesticides (farmers, pesticide applicators). The results again point to occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for prostate cancer but the question of causality remains unanswered. Epidemiological evidence did not allow identifying a specific pesticide or chemical class that would be responsible for the increased risk but the strongest evidence comes from workers exposed to phenoxy herbicides possibly in relation with dioxin and/or furan contamination.

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Acknowledgement

V.M.F.G. was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Toxicologie Industrielle et Médecine du travail, Ecole de Santé Publique, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium

    Geneviève Van Maele-Fabry, Valérie Libotte & Dominique Lison

  2. Fonds des Maladies Professionnelles, Bruxelles, Belgium

    Valérie Libotte

  3. Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Jan Willems

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  1. Geneviève Van Maele-Fabry
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  2. Valérie Libotte
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  3. Jan Willems
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  4. Dominique Lison
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Correspondence to Geneviève Van Maele-Fabry.

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Van Maele-Fabry, G., Libotte, V., Willems, J. et al. Review and Meta-analysis of Risk Estimates for Prostate Cancer in Pesticide Manufacturing Workers. Cancer Causes Control 17, 353–373 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-005-0443-y

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