Cancer in the offspring of fathers in hydrocarbon-related occupations.

Abstract

A case-control study has been conducted to see whether a hydrocarbonrelated occupation of the father at the time of conception constitutes a risk factor for malignant disease in the offspring. The series comprised 852 cancer cases from the Finnish Cancer Registry and 852 controls matched for date of birth and domicile. The father's occupation for both the cases and controls was ascertained from the records of antenatal clinics. No significant associations were found between the commonest types of childhood cancer and hydrocarbon-related occupations-that is, motor-vehicle mechanics, machinists, miners, painters, and motor-vehicle drivers. Risk ratio 2 was excluded from most of the 95 % confidence intervals for children under 15 years of age. The results do not support the hypothesis that there is an excess risk of cancer in the children of fathers in hydrocarbon-related occupations.In a recent study, Fabia and Thuy (1974) introduced the 'hydrocarbon-related' occupation of the father at the time of birth of the child as being a risk factor for malignant neoplasm in the offspring. The occupations considered were motor-vehicle mechanic, service-station attendant, machinist, miner, lumberman, painter, dyer, and cleaner. The series comprised 386 children who had died of malignant diseases under the age of five during the years 1965-70 in Quebec, and a control group of 772 children whose birth registration immediately preceded or followed that of each case in the official files. Comparisons of the cases with the controls showed that the cases included a significant excess of fathers in hydrocarbon-related occupations; the relative risk was 2'1.In a recent investigation from Finland (Salonen and Sax6n, 1975), several variables were tested as risk indicators of childhood cancer. The antenatal and perinatal records of a series of 972 children who had contracted cancer before the age of 15 years were compared with those of a control series. Thefathers' occupations were recorded during the study, but not included in the analyses. In the present investigation, this recorded information was used for testing the hypothesis of Fabia and Thuy (1974).

Risk of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after parental occupational exposure to solvents and other agents: the SETIL Study

“…Possible reasons are the small numbers of subjects4 6 or exposure inferred on the basis of occupational title or industrial activity 3 22 23…”

Paternal occupation and brain cancer in offspring: A mortality‐based case‐control study

“…In the first study to relate parental occupation to childhood cancer, children whose fathers were engaged in "hydrocarbon-related'' occupations were found to be at a twofold higher risk of death from cancer than children whose fathers were not so employed [Fabia and Thuy, 19741. Since this report, other investigators have addressed the question of parental occupation and risk of cancer in offspring, with mixed results [Hakulinen et al, 1976;Kantor et al, 1979;Kwa and Fine, 1980;Zack et al, 1980;Hemminki et al, 1980Hemminki et al, , 1981Peters et al, 1981;Sanders et al, 1981;Gold et al, 1982;Wilkins and Koutras, 1983;Wilkins and Sinks, 1984a,b;Peters and Preston-Martin, 1984;Hicks et al, 1984;Shaw et al, 1984;Vianna et al, 1984;Van Steensel-Moll et al, 1985;Spitz and Johnson, 1985;Olshan et al, 1986;Lowengart et al, 1987;Johnson et al, 19871. With one exception [Sanders et al, 19811, all published articles available for review describe the results of a case-control study in which parental employment information was (in most studies) obtained from either personal interviews or occupation/industry statements on birth certificates.…”

Monitoring The Impact Of The Environment On Health

“…(A number of other studies have since replicated this finding -see Alderson, 1985 for review.) Hakulinen et al (1976) examined the occupation of the father for children developing childhood malignancy in comparison with that for control children. They found no evidence of increased father's exposure to hydrocarbons for children suffering from leukaemia, brain tumour, or other tumour -thus failing to repeat the positive suggestion of a parental influence from the study by Fabiã nd Thuy (1975).…”