Occupation and risk of upper aerodigestive tract cancer: The ARCAGE study
Cette étude européenne (1 851 cas et 1 949 témoins) évalue l’association entre une histoire d’exposition professionnelle à divers facteurs de risque et le risque de cancer des voies aérodigestives supérieures
We investigated the association between occupational history and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer risk in the ARCAGE European case-control study. The study included 1851 patients with incident cancer of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx or oesophagus and 1949 controls. We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ever employment in 283 occupations and 172 industries, adjusting for smoking and alcohol. Men (1457 cases) and women (394 cases) were analysed separately and we incorporated a semi-Bayes adjustment approach for multiple comparisons. Among men, we found increased risks for occupational categories previously reported to be associated with at least one type of UADT cancer, including painters (OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.01-3.00), bricklayers (1.58, 1.05-2.37), workers employed in the erection of roofs and frames (2.62, 1.08-6.36), reinforced concreters (3.46, 1.11-10.8), dockers (2.91, 1.05-8.05) and workers employed in the construction of roads (3.03, 1.23-7.46), general construction of buildings (1.44, 1.12-1.85) and cargo handling (2.60, 1.17-5.25). With the exception of the first three categories, risks both increased when restricting to long duration of employment and remained elevated after semi-Bayes adjustment. Increased risks were also found for loggers (3.56, 1.20-10.5) and cattle and dairy farming (3.60, 1.15-11.2). Among women, there was no clear evidence of increased risks of UADT cancer in association with occupations or industrial activities. This study provides evidence of an association between some occupational categories and UADT cancer risk among men. The most consistent findings, also supported by previous studies, were obtained for specific workers employed in the construction industry. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.