Occupational exposure to benzene, toluene, xylene and styrene and risk of prostate cancer in a population-based study

Blanc-Lapierre, Audrey; Sauvé, Jean-François; Parent, Marie‐Élise

doi:10.1136/oemed-2018-105058

Cited by 39 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…While our analysis took into account a number of health behaviors, residual confounding or lack of adjustment for factors not yet recognized in PCa development cannot be ruled out. Disadvantageous SEP during adulthood may be linked to occupational features associated with PCa such as shift work ( 59 ) and exposure to chemical agents ( 33 , 60 ). Further adjustment for these factors did not alter findings (data not shown).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We conducted a sensitivity analysis excluding proxy respondents, who might be less cognizant of subjects' exposures, and observed no difference in results. Nevertheless, occupational circumstances are a specific focus of the PROtEuS study and our team has considerable experience in eliciting detailed work histories and in assigning occupational titles ( 33 , 61 ). Moreover, reports of work histories have been shown to be valid ( 62 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, exposures in specific periods may be hypothesized to affect tumor aggressiveness. Aggressive and non-aggressive PCa appear to have different sets of anthropometric ( 31 ), lifestyle ( 32 ) and occupational ( 33 ) risk factors, supporting the notion that their etiology might be under distinct influences. Recent observations also indicate that grade is established early in prostate tumor pathogenesis ( 34 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Disadvantageous Socioeconomic Position at Specific Life Periods May Contribute to Prostate Cancer Risk and Aggressiveness

et al. 2018

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Background: Previous studies on socioeconomic position (SEP) and risk of prostate cancer (PCa) have produced contradictory results. Most measured SEP only once during the individuals' life span. The aim of the study was to identify life course models that describe best the relationship between SEP measured during childhood/adolescence, early- and late-adulthood, and risk of PCa overall as well as according to tumor aggressiveness at diagnosis.Methods: We used data from a population-based case-control study of PCa conducted in the predominantly French-speaking population in Montreal, Canada. Cases (n = 1,930) with new, histologically-confirmed PCa were ascertained across hospitals deserving the French-speaking population in 2005–2009. Controls (n = 1,991), selected from Quebec's list of French-speaking electors, were frequency-matched to cases (±5 years). In-person interviews collected information on socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and a complete occupational history. Measures of SEP during childhood/adolescence included parents' ownership of a car and father's longest occupation, while the subject's first and longest occupations were used to indicate early- and late-adulthood SEP, respectively. We used the Bayesian relevant life course exposure model to investigate the relationship between lifelong SEP and PCa risk.Results: Cumulative exposure to disadvantageous SEP was associated with about a 50% increase in odds of developing PCa. Late-adulthood SEP was identified as a sensitive period for aggressive PCa. Childhood/adolescence SEP based on parents' ownership of a car was associated with non-aggressive PCa. Associations were independent from PCa screening.Conclusion: Disadvantageous SEP over the life course was associated with higher PCa incidence, with consistent evidence of sensitive time periods for cancer aggressiveness. The mechanisms through which disadvantageous SEP relates to PCa risk need to be further elucidated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Disadvantageous Socioeconomic Position at Specific Life Periods May Contribute to Prostate Cancer Risk and Aggressiveness

et al. 2018

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“…The PROtEuS population has been described in detail previously [19, 20]. Briefly, eligible subjects were men aged ≤ 75 years at diagnosis or recruitment, Canadian citizens and residing in the greater Montreal area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hybrid expert approach for retrospective assessment of occupational exposures in a population-based case-control study of cancer

et al. 2019

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Background While the expert-based occupational exposure assessment approach has been considered the reference method for retrospective population-based studies, its implementation in large study samples has become prohibitive. To facilitate its application and improve upon it we developed, in the context of a Montreal population-based study of prostate cancer (PROtEuS), a hybrid approach combining job-exposure profiles (JEPs) summarizing expert evaluations from previous studies and expert review. We aim to describe the hybrid expert method and its impacts on the exposures assigned in PROtEuS compared to those from a previous study coded using the traditional expert method. Methods Applying the hybrid approach, experts evaluated semi-quantitative levels of confidence, concentration and frequency of exposure to 313 agents for 16,065 jobs held by 4005 subjects in PROtEuS. These assessments were compared to those from a different set of jobs coded in an earlier study of lung cancer, conducted on the same study base, for 90 blue-collar occupations and 203 agents. Endpoints evaluated included differences in the number of exposures and in the distribution of ratings across jobs, and the within-occupation variability in exposure. Results Compared to jobs from the lung cancer study, jobs in PROtEuS had on average 0.3 more exposures. PROtEuS exposures were more often assigned definite confidence ratings, but concentration and frequency levels tended to be lower. The within-occupation variability in ratings assigned to jobs were lower in PROtEuS jobs for all metrics. This was particularly evident for concentration, although considerable variability remained with over 40% of occupation/agent cells in PROtEuS exposed at different levels. The hybrid approach reduced coding time by half, compared to the traditional expert assessment. Conclusions The new hybrid expert approach improved on efficiency and transparency, and resulted in greater confidence in assessments, compared to the traditional expert method applied in an earlier study involving a similar set of jobs. Assigned ratings were more homogeneous with the hybrid approach, possibly reflecting clearer guidelines for coding, greater coherence between experts and/or reliance on summaries of past assessments. Nevertheless, significant within-occupation variability remained with the hybrid approach, suggesting that experts took into account job-specific factors in their assessments. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-019-0451-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Besides the occupational cohort studies, there are other studies that evaluated styrene and cancer, including cohort and nested case-control studies of workers in various industries in which styrene was not a main exposure of interest (Budroni et al 2010;Guénel et al 2002;Marsh et al 2001;Radican et al 2008); population-and hospitalbased case-control studies that evaluated the relation between occupational exposure to styrene and other agents and various cancers (Blanc-Lapierre, Sauve, and Parent 2018;Cantor et al 1995;Gérin et al 1998;Cocco et al 2010;Costantini et al 2008;Dumas et al 2000;Flodin et al 1986;Karami et al 2011;Miligi et al 2006;Scélo et al 2004;Seidler et al 2007;Siemiatycki 1991); a prospective cohort study of environmental exposure to styrene and other hazardous outdoor air pollutants and the risk of invasive breast cancer (Garcia et al 2015); and ecologic studies that investigated environmental exposure to styrene and cancer (Bulka et al 2016;Coyle et al 2005). These study types are less informative than the occupational cohort studies given generally lower number of subjects and imprecise exposure information.…”

Section: Strainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of potential health effects associated with occupational and environmental exposure to styrene – an update

Banton

Bus

Collins

et al. 2019

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B

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The potential chronic health risks of occupational and environmental exposure to styrene were evaluated to update health hazard and exposure information developed since the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis risk assessment for styrene was performed in 2002. The updated hazard assessment of styrene's health effects indicates human cancers and ototoxicity remain potential concerns. However, mechanistic research on mouse lung tumors demonstrates these tumors are mouse-specific and of low relevance to human cancer risk. The updated toxicity database supports toxicity reference levels of 20 ppm (equates to 400 mg urinary metabolites mandelic acid + phenylglyoxylic acid/g creatinine) for worker inhalation exposure and 3.7 ppm and 2.5 mg/kg bw/day, respectively, for general population inhalation and oral exposure. No cancer risk value estimates are proposed given the established lack of relevance of mouse lung tumors and inconsistent epidemiology evidence. The updated exposure assessment supports inhalation and ingestion routes as important. The updated risk assessment found estimated risks within acceptable ranges for all age groups of the general population and workers with occupational exposures in non-fiber-reinforced polymer composites industries and fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRP) workers using closedmold operations or open-mold operations with respiratory protection. Only FRP workers using open-mold operations not using respiratory protection have risk exceedances for styrene and should be considered for risk management measures. In addition, given the reported interaction of styrene exposure with noise, noise reduction to sustain levels below 85 dB(A) needs be in place.

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Occupational exposure to benzene, toluene, xylene and styrene and risk of prostate cancer in a population-based study

Abstract: Exposure to any BTX was associated with higher risks of overall PCa. Prolonged exposures at the substantial level to benzene and styrene increased risks of low-grade tumours. These novel findings were independent from PCa screening.

Cited by 39 publications

References 42 publications

Disadvantageous Socioeconomic Position at Specific Life Periods May Contribute to Prostate Cancer Risk and Aggressiveness

Disadvantageous Socioeconomic Position at Specific Life Periods May Contribute to Prostate Cancer Risk and Aggressiveness

A hybrid expert approach for retrospective assessment of occupational exposures in a population-based case-control study of cancer

Evaluation of potential health effects associated with occupational and environmental exposure to styrene – an update

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