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BMC Cancer
Published in: BMC Cancer 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

Occupational risk variation of nasopharyngeal cancer in the Nordic countries

Authors: Timo Carpén, Evelina Gille, Lalle Hammarstedt-Nordenvall, Johnni Hansen, Sanna Heikkinen, Elsebeth Lynge, Jenny Selander, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Jóhanna Eyrún Torfadottir, Antti Mäkitie, Eero Pukkala

Published in: BMC Cancer | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to estimate occupational risk variation in the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in a large population-based cohort of the Nordic Occupational Cancer (NOCCA) study.

Methods

This study is based on a cohort of almost 15 million persons from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with 2898 nasopharyngeal cancer cases diagnosed in 1961–2005. The data on occupations were gathered from population censuses and cancer data from the national cancer registries. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using the national NPC incidence rates as the reference.

Results

There were 1980 male and 918 female NPC patients. The highest SIRs of NPC were observed among male waiters (SIR 3.69, 95% CI 1.91–6.45) and cooks and stewards (SIR 2.24, 95% CI 1.16–3.91). Among women, launderers had the highest SIR of NPC (2.04, 95% CI 1.02–3.65). Significantly decreased SIRs were found among male farmers (SIR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68–0.92) and male textile workers (SIR 0.49, 95% CI 0.22–0.93).

Conclusions

This study suggests that NPC may be associated with several work-related exposure agents such as smoking, kitchen air pollution and solvents. In future, occupational exposure-risk relations should be studied to understand more about causality and to assess effective prevention strategies.
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Metadata
Title
Occupational risk variation of nasopharyngeal cancer in the Nordic countries
Authors
Timo Carpén
Evelina Gille
Lalle Hammarstedt-Nordenvall
Johnni Hansen
Sanna Heikkinen
Elsebeth Lynge
Jenny Selander
Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum
Jóhanna Eyrún Torfadottir
Antti Mäkitie
Eero Pukkala
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Cancer / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2407
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-10209-y

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