Occupational exposure to asbestos and risk of kidney cancer: an updated meta-analysis

Abstract

Limited information is available on carcinogenicity of asbestos on non-respiratory organs. We aimed at conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies on occupational exposure to asbestos and risk of kidney cancer. We searched through three databases, PubMed, Embase and Scopus for article published after 2000, and after eliminating duplicates and non-relevant studies, we identified 13 studies. We combined their results with those of 31 non-overlapping studies included in a previous review up to 2000. We conducted a meta-analysis based on random-effects models. The pooled relative risk of kidney cancer for asbestos exposure was 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.84–1.04), with no differences according to type of asbestos fiber, geographic region, period of exposure, or estimated quality of the study. Our results showed a lack of association between occupational asbestos exposure and risk of kidney cancer.

How Does Environmental and Occupational Exposure Contribute to Carcinogenesis in Genitourinary and Lung Cancers?

“…Due to the statistical incongruences and methodological doubts, this evidence cannot be considered conclusive enough compared to other tumors, and another meta-analysis has claimed and disconfirmed these results [84]. Similar findings were achieved also for renal cell carcinoma by two different meta-analyses, resulting in one of them a RR of 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0-1.3), thus demonstrating a lack of correlation [85,86].…”

Comorbidities and Causes of Death of Patients With Asbestosis

“…A majority of pleural mesothelioma cases are due to asbestos 9 . The association of asbestos exposure and other malignancies has been studied with variable results, as authors of recent reviews and meta-analyses have claimed that asbestos is a risk factor for esophageal and colorectal cancers, whereas no association was found with kidney and prostate cancers 10–13 …”

“…9 The association of asbestos exposure and other malignancies has been studied with variable results, as authors of recent reviews and meta-analyses have claimed that asbestos is a risk factor for esophageal and colorectal cancers, whereas no association was found with kidney and prostate cancers. [10][11][12][13] Given that little is known about the nonmalignant comorbidities of asbestosis patients, our aim was to investigate the comorbidities as well as both the underlying and immediate causes of death of patients with asbestosis. Furthermore, the association of the most common comorbidities with the prognosis of asbestosis patients was evaluated.…”