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Cancer incidence and mortality among beta-naphthylamine and benzidine dye workers in Moscow
M A Bulbulyan1, L W Figgs, S H Zahm
1Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, N N Blokhin Cancer Research Centre, Moscow, Russia.
Background:
Cancer incidence and mortality were evaluated among 4581 aniline dye production workers in Moscow.
Methods:
A historical cohort was assembled and followed-up from 1 January 1975 to 31 December 1989. Moscow district oncologic dispensary registries furnished case ascertainment and employer records provided job exposure data. Expected cancers and deaths were calculated based on gender-, age-, and calendar time-specific incidence and mortality rates for the Moscow general population applied to the cohort's person-years of follow-up. Disease-specific standardized mortality and incidence values were derived from ratios of observed to expected cancers.
Results:
Men experienced elevated total cancer mortality (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 125; 95% CI: 110-142) and urinary bladder cancer mortality (SMR = 279; 95% CI: 192-391), and increased all malignancy (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 142; 95% CI: 125-160), oesophageal (SIR = 203; 95% CI: 108-347), respiratory tract (SIR = 154; 95% CI: 120-194) and bladder (SIR = 394; 95% CI: 268-559) cancer incidence. Women had elevated oesophageal (SMR = 313; 95% CI: 124-664) and bladder (SMR = 311; 95% CI: 149-571) cancer mortality and elevated all malignancy (SIR = 124; 95% CI: 106-144), oesophageal (SIR = 348; 95% CI: 140-719), and bladder (SIR = 861; 95% CI: 458-8002) cancer incidence. Bladder cancer rate increased with employment duration and younger age first hired. Rate estimates were highest among beta-naphthylamine exposed workers but was also increased among workers with other chemical exposures. A cancer prevention and control effort that limited benzidine exposure to < or = 3 years was apparently unsuccessful as indicated by a significant excess of bladder cancer (SIR = 1773; 95% CI: 356-5180) among these workers.
Conclusion:
Relative rates of oesophageal, lung, and stomach cancer were also elevated among all workers, but did not increase with total years worked, age first hired, or year first hired, suggesting a non-occupational aetiology.