Top

Cancer Causes & Control

Published in:

01-06-2007 | Original Paper

A systematic review of myeloid leukemias and occupational pesticide exposure

Authors: Geneviève Van Maele-Fabry, Sophie Duhayon, Dominique Lison

Published in: Cancer Causes & Control | Issue 5/2007

Abstract

Objective

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analyses of published studies examining the association between myeloid leukemias (ML) and occupational pesticide exposure.

Methods

Studies were identified from a MEDLINE search through 31 May 2006 and from the reference lists of identified publications. Studies were summarized and evaluated for publication bias. Relative risk estimates for ML were extracted from 17 cohort and 16 case–control studies published between 1979 and 2005. Fixed- or random-effect meta-analysis models were used depending on the presence of heterogeneity between studies. Separate analyses were conducted after stratification for study design, occupational group, ML subtype or gender.

Results

The overall meta-rate ratio estimate (meta-RR) for the cohort studies was 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99–1.48). Substantial heterogeneity existed among cohort studies (p = 1.064 × 10⁻⁵), mainly reflecting the varying occupational categories examined. The meta-RR was 6.32 (95% CI: 1.90–21.01) for manufacturing workers and 2.14 (95% CI: 1.39–3.31) for pesticide applicators. After stratification of cohort studies by specific ML subtype, an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was found (meta-RR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.02–2.34). No significant heterogeneity was detected among case–control studies and an increased risk of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was found among men (meta-RR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.03–1.88) and farmers or agricultural workers (meta-RR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.06–1.79).

Conclusion

The strongest evidence of an increased risk of ML comes from manufacturing workers and pesticide applicators. Further studies will be needed to correlate reliable exposure data within these specific occupational groups with well-defined subtypes of leukemia to refine this assessment.

Lee GR, Foerster J, Lukens J, Paraskevas F, Greer JP, Rodgers GM (1999) Wintrobe’s clinical hematology (Hardcover), 10th edn. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2764 pp

Beers MH, Berkow R (1999) Leukemias. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy, 17th edn. Merck & Co. Inc., Merck Research Laboratories, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA

Vardiman JW, Harris NL, Brunning RD (2002) The World Health Organization (WHO) classification of the myeloid neoplasms. Blood 100:2292–2302PubMedCrossRef

Zeeb H, Blettner M (1998) Adult leukaemia: what is the role of currently known risk factors?. Radiat Environ Biophys 36:217–228PubMedCrossRef

Greaves MF (1997) Aetiology of acute leukaemia. Lancet 349:344–349PubMedCrossRef

Linet MS, Cartwright RA (1996) The leukemias. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF Jr (eds) Cancer epidemiology and prevention, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, NewYork, NY, pp 841–879

Greaves MF (2004) Biological models for leukaemia and lymphoma. IARC Sci Publ 157:351–372PubMed

Schnatter AR, Rosamilia K, Wojcik NC (2005) Review of the literature on benzene exposure and leukemia subtypes. Chem Biol Interact 153–154:9–21PubMedCrossRef

Greenberg RS, Mandel J, Pastides H, Britton NL, Rudenko L, Starr TB (2001) A meta-analysis of cohort studies describing mortality and cancer incidence among chemical workers in the United States and Western Europe. Epidemiology 12:727–740PubMedCrossRef

10.

Smith MT, Zhang L (1998) Biomarkers of leukemia risk: benzene as a model. Environ Health Perspect 106:937–946PubMedCrossRef

11.

International Classification of Disease (1989). 10th revision. http://www.wolfbane.com/icd/index.html

12.

Greenberg PL, Young NS, Gattermann N (2002) Myelodysplastic syndromes. Hematology (Am Soc Hematol Educ Program) 136–161

13.

Breslow NE, Day NE (1987) Statistical methods in cancer research: the design and analysis of cohort studies. IARC scientific publications vol II, no 82. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

14.

Van Maele-Fabry G, Willems JL (2003) Occupation related pesticide exposure and cancer of the prostate: a meta-analysis. Occup Environ Med 60:634–642PubMedCrossRef

15.

Clarke M, Oxman AD (eds) (2000) Cochrane reviewers’ handbook 4.1 (updated June 2000). In: Review Manager (RevMan) (computer program). Version 4.1. The Cochrane Collaboration 2000, Oxford, England

16.

Lipsett M, Campleman S (1999) Occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and lung cancer: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health 89:1009–1017PubMed

17.

Greenland S (1998) Meta-analysis. In: Rothman KJ, Greenland S (eds) Modern epidemiology, 2nd edn. Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia, pp 643–673

18.

Stewart RE, Dennis LK, Dawson DV, Resnick MI (1999) A meta-analysis of risk estimates for prostate cancer related to tire and rubber manufacturing operations. J Occup Environ Med 41:1079–1084PubMedCrossRef

19.

Dennis LK (2000) Meta-analysis for combining relative risks of alcohol consumption and prostate cancer. Prostate 42:56–66PubMedCrossRef

20.

DerSimonian R, Laird N (1986) Meta-analysis in clinical trials. Control Clin Trials 7:177–188PubMedCrossRef

21.

Egger M, Davey SG, Schneider M, Minder C (1997) Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. BMJ 315:629–634PubMed

22.

Olkin I (1994) Re: “A critical look at some popular meta-analytic methods”. Am J Epidemiol 140:297–299PubMed

23.

Acquavella JF, Delzell E, Cheng H, Lynch CF, Johnson G (2004) Mortality and cancer incidence among alachlor manufacturing workers 1968–99. Occup Environ Med 61:680–685PubMedCrossRef

24.

Asp S, Riihimaki V, Hernberg S, Pukkala E (1994) Mortality and cancer morbidity of Finnish chlorophenoxy herbicide applicators: an 18-year prospective follow-up. Am J Ind Med 26:243–253PubMedCrossRef

25.

Beard J, Sladden T, Morgan G, Berry G, Brooks L, McMichael A (2003) Health impacts of pesticide exposure in a cohort of outdoor workers. Environ Health Perspect 111:724–730PubMedCrossRef

26.

Blair A, Grauman DJ, Lubin JH, Fraumeni JF Jr (1983) Lung cancer and other causes of death among licensed pesticide applicators. J Natl Cancer Inst 71:31–37PubMed

27.

Bucchi L, Nanni O, Ravaioli A, Falcini F, Ricci R, Buiatti E, Amadori D (2004) Cancer mortality in a cohort of male agricultural workers from northern Italy. J Occup Environ Med 46:249–256PubMedCrossRef

28.

Bueno de Mesquita H, Doornbos G, Van der Kuip D, Kogevinas M, Winkelmann R (1993) Occupational exposure to phenoxy herbicides and chlorophenols and cancer mortality in The Netherlands. Am J Ind Med 23:289–300CrossRef

29.

Cantor KP, Silberman W (1999) Mortality among aerial pesticide applicators and flight instructors: follow-up from 1965–1988. Am J Ind Med 36:239–247PubMedCrossRef

30.

Dean G (1994) Deaths from primary brain cancers, lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers in Agricultural Workers in the Republic of Ireland. J Epidemiol Community Health 48:364–368PubMedCrossRef

31.

Ji JG, Hemminki K (2005) Occurrences of leukemia subtypes by socioeconomic and occupational groups in Sweden. J Occup Environ Med 47:1131–1140PubMedCrossRef

32.

Kelleher C, Newell J, MacDonagh-White C, MacHale E, Egan E, Connolly E, Gough H, Delaney B, Shryane E (1998) Incidence and occupational pattern of leukaemias, lymphomas, and testicular tumours in western Ireland over an 11 year period. J Epidemiol Community Health 52:651–656PubMed

33.

Littorin M, Attewell R, Skerfving S, Horstmann V, Moller T (1993) Mortality and tumour morbidity among Swedish market gardeners and orchardists. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 65:163–169PubMedCrossRef

34.

Nanni O, Ravaioli A, Bucchi L, Falcini F, Ricci R, Buiatti E, Amadori D (2005) Relative and absolute cancer mortality of women in agriculture in northern Italy. Eur J Cancer Prev 14:337–344PubMedCrossRef

35.

Semenciw RM, Morrison HI, Morison D, Mao Y (1994) Leukemia mortality and farming in the Prairie Provinces of Canada. Can J Public Health 85:208–211PubMed

36.

Sinner PJ, Cerhan JR, Folsom AR, Ross JA (2005) Positive association of farm or rural residence with acute myeloid leukemia incidence in a cohort of older women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14:2446–2448PubMedCrossRef

37.

Sperati A, Rapiti E, Settimi L, Quercia A, Terenzoni B, Forastiere F (1999) Mortality among male licensed pesticide users and their wives. Am J Ind Med 36:142–146PubMedCrossRef

38.

Stark AD, Chang HG, Fitzgerald EF, Riccardi K, Stone RR (1990) A retrospective cohort study of cancer incidence among New York State Farm Bureau members. Arch Environ Health 45:155–162PubMedCrossRef

39.

t' Mannetje A, McLean S, Cheng S, Boffetta P, Colin D, and Pearce N (2005) Mortality in New Zealand workers exposed to phenoxy herbicides and dioxins. Occup Environ Med 62:34–40PubMedCrossRef

40.

Adegoke OJ, Blair A, Shu XO, Sanderson M, Jin F, Dosemeci M, Addy CL, Zheng W (2003) Occupational history and exposure and the risk of adult leukemia in Shanghai. Ann Epidemiol 13:485–494PubMedCrossRef

41.

Bjork J, Albin M, Welinder H, Tinnerberg H, Mauritzson N, Kauppinen T, Stromberg U, Johansson B, Billstrom R, Mikoczy Z, Ahlgren T, Nilsson PG, Mitelman F, Hagmar L (2001) Are occupational, hobby, or lifestyle exposures associated with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukaemia? Occup Environ Med 58:722–727PubMedCrossRef

42.

Blair A, Thomas TL (1979) Leukemia among Nebraska farmers: a death certificate study. Am J Epidemiol 110:264–273PubMed

43.

Blair A, White DW (1981) Death certificate study of leukemia among farmers from Wisconsin. J Natl Cancer Inst 66:1027–1030PubMed

44.

Brown LM, Blair A, Gibson R, Everett GD, Cantor KP, Schuman LM, Burmeister LF, Van Lier S, Dick F (1990) Pesticide exposures and other agricultural risk factors for leukemia among men in Iowa and Minnesota. Cancer Res 50:6585–6591PubMed

45.

Brownson RC, Reif JS (1988) A cancer registry-based study of occupational risk for lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukaemia. Int J Epidemiol 17:27–32PubMedCrossRef

46.

Burmeister L, van Lier SF, Isacson P (1982) Leukemia and farm practices in Iowa. Am J Epidemiol 115:720–728PubMed

47.

Ciccone G, Mirabelli D, Levis A, Gavarotti P, Rege CG, Davico L, Vineis P (1993) Myeloid leukemias and myelodysplastic syndromes: chemical exposure, histologic subtype and cytogenetics in a case–control study. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 68:135–139PubMedCrossRef

48.

Flodin U, Fredrikson M, Persson B, Hardell L, Axelson O (1986) Background radiation, electrical work, and some other exposures associated with acute myeloid leukemia in a case-referent study. Arch Environ Health 41:77–84PubMedCrossRef

49.

Gajewski AK, Krzyzanowski M, Majle T (1989) Occupational exposures and leukemia. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig 40:1–5PubMed

50.

Järvisalo J, Tola S, Korkala M-L, Järvinen E (1984) A cancer register-based case study of occupations of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer 54:785–790PubMedCrossRef

51.

Mele A, Szklo M, Visani G, Stazi MA, Castelli G, Pasquini P, Mandelli F (1994) Hair dye use and other risk-factors for leukemia and pre-leukemia: a case–control study. Am J Epidemiol 139:609–619PubMed

52.

Reif J, Pearce N, Fraser J (1989) Cancer risks in New Zealand farmers. Int J Epidemiol 18:768–774PubMedCrossRef

53.

Richardson S, Zittoun R, Bastuji GS, Lasserre V, Guihenneuc C, Cadiou M, Viguie F, Laffont FI (1992) Occupational risk factors for acute leukaemia: a case–control study. Int J Epidemiol 21:1063–1073PubMedCrossRef

54.

Speer SA, Semenza JC, Kurosaki T, Anton-Culver H (2002) Risk factors for acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma: a combination of GIS and case–control studies. J Environ Health 64:9–16PubMed

55.

Terry PD, Shore DL, Rauscher GH, Sandler DP (2005) Occupation, hobbies, and acute leukemia in adults. Leuk Res 29:1117–1130PubMedCrossRef

56.

Sterne JA, Egger M, Smith GD (2001) Systematic reviews in health care: investigating and dealing with publication and other biases in meta-analysis. BMJ 323:101–105PubMedCrossRef

57.

Alder N, Fenty J, Warren F, Sutton AJ, Rushton L, Jones DR, Abrams KR (2006) Meta-analysis of mortality and cancer incidence among workers in the synthetic rubber-producing industry. Am J Epidemiol 164:405–420PubMedCrossRef

58.

Burns C (2005) Cancer among pesticide manufacturers and applicators. Scand J Work Environ Health 31(suppl 1):9–17PubMed

59.

Hoppin JA (2005) Integrating exposure measurements into epidemiologic studies in agriculture. Scand J Work Environ Health 31(suppl 1):110–114

Title: A systematic review of myeloid leukemias and occupational pesticide exposure
Authors: Geneviève Van Maele-Fabry
Sophie Duhayon
Dominique Lison
Publication date: 01-06-2007
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Published in: Cancer Causes & Control / Issue 5/2007
Print ISSN: 0957-5243
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7225
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-007-0122-2

Webinar | 19-02-2024 | 17:30 (CET)

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on antibody–drug conjugates in cancer

Watch now

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are novel agents that have shown promise across multiple tumor types. Explore the current landscape of ADCs in breast and lung cancer with our experts, and gain insights into the mechanism of action, key clinical trials data, existing challenges, and future directions.

Dr. Véronique Diéras

Prof. Fabrice Barlesi

Developed by: Springer Medicine

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 5/2007

Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and endometrial cancer risk: results from the Netherlands Cohort Study

Agreement of diagnosis and its date for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors between medicare claims and cancer registry data

Fruit and vegetable consumption and lymphoma risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

History of diabetes mellitus and subsequent prostate cancer risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

Evaluation of ecological and in vitro effects of boron on prostate cancer risk (United States)

Breastfeeding and risk of ovarian cancer in two prospective cohorts

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on antibody–drug conjugates in cancer