Epidemiology of cancer from exposure to arylamines

Occupational exposure to arylamines such as benzidine, 2-naphthylamine, and 4-aminobiphenyl is associated with exceptionally elevated risks of bladder cancer (up to 100-fold or more). In one plant, all 15 workers involved in distilling naphthylamine developed bladder cancer, suggesting that for high levels of exposure to potent carcinogens individual susceptibility is irrelevant. More recently, exposure to other arylamines also has been suggested to increase the risk of bladder cancer in humans. In addition, cohort and case-control studies suggest that several job titles or exposures may involve elevated risks of bladder cancer. Some of these jobs or exposures (such as in the aluminum industry) are associated with exposure to arylamines. Arylamines are found also in tobacco smoke, and different sources of evidence suggest that they can explain the risk of bladder cancer, which has been shown clearly in smokers. Epidemiologic analyses of timing of exposure in workers occupationally exposed to arylamines or in air-cured tobacco smokers suggest that arylamines exert both an early- and a late-stage activity, compatible with a two-mutation theory of bladder carcinogenesis.