Occupation and lung cancer risk in Leningrad Province, Russia

To investigate the association between occupation and lung cancer risk in Leningrad Province, Russia, we identified 540 pathologically diagnosed lung cancer cases (474 males and 66 females) and 582 controls (453 males and 129 females) from the 1993-1998 autopsy records of the 88 state hospitals of the Province. Lifetime occupational histories were obtained from personal records coded according to the standard Russian occupational classification system. Lung cancer risk was increased in workers in the manufacturing industry, particularly in the food industry and wholesale/retail trade and in the miscellaneous manufacturing industry. An increased risk was also found in subjects employed in chemical and metal production for 10 years or more. When we considered the association between specific occupations and lung cancer, waste incineration operators and loaders exhibited an excess risk that increased with employment duration. The present study, which is the first to evaluate the risk of lung cancer by occupation in Russia, suggests the presence in Leningrad Province of exposure in the workplace to lung carcinogens that require further characterization to develop targeted and effective preventive measures

Risk of lung cancer and exposure to industrial acids, solvents, and metals in Leningrad Province, Russia

Objective: We sought to investigate the association of occupational exposure to industrial acids, solvents, and metals with lung cancer in Leningrad Province, Russia, where an excess of occupationally related lung cancer was reported recently. Methods: We identified 540 pathologically diagnosed lung cancer cases and 582 controls from the 1993-1998 autopsy records of the 88 Leningrad Province hospitals. Lifetime job-specific exposure measurements were available for 12 industrial acids, 15 solvents, and 17 metals. Results: Exposures were frequent in the study group and mostly occurred after World War II. However, lung cancer risks for industrial acids (odds ratio [OR]= 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]= 0.8-1.7), solvents (OR= 0.8; 95% CI= 0.6-1.2), and metals (OR= 0.8; 95% CI= 0.5-1.0) were not increased. Also, no significant excess risk was found for any of the specific agents investigated. Conclusions: The excess of occupationally related lung cancer in the Province is not explained by exposure to the agents investigated

Pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality in Leningrad province in Russia

This study was carried out to examine the association between pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality, We conducted an autopsy based case-control study in Leningrad Province in Russia. A total of 540 lung cancer cases and 582 controls were identified among subjects who had died in the hospitals of the Leningrad province between 1993 and 1998. Using work history records, we assessed exposure to pesticide at the level of industry and job title. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio for pesticide exposure and lung cancer mortality. There was no association between ever exposure to pesticide and lung cancer mortality overall (odds ratio=1.06, 95% confidence interval=0.82-1.36) and in both men (odds ratio=1.11, 95% confidence interval=0.84-1.46) and women (odds ratio=0.74, 95% confidence interval=0.37-1.46). We observed no statistically significant odds ratio by duration of pesticide exposure, intensity of pesticide exposure, and cumulative pesticide exposures with lung cancer mortality in both smokers and nonsmokers. Odds ratio also did not differ when the analysis was restricted to individuals who had exposure data with high confidence scores. Our findings suggest no associations between pesticide exposures and mortality of lung cancer in the population of the Leningrad province in Russia that deserves further evaluation

Risk of lung cancer from exposure to dusts and fibers in Leningrad Province, Russia

Background: Exposures to several dusts and fibers (DFs) have been established or suggested as etiologic factors for lung cancer. Methods: To investigate lung cancer risk in relation to exposure to DFs, we identified 540 pathologically-diagnosed lung cancer cases and 582 controls from the 1993-1998 autopsy records of the 88 hospitals of Leningrad Province, Russia. Lifetime job-specific exposure measurements were available for 15 organic, 15 man-made and 28 natural-inorganic agents. Results: In male workers, increased risks were found for linen dust (OR= 3.68, 95% CI 1.00-13.6, adjusted for age, smoking and residence), and unspecified DFs (OR= 1.44, 95% CI 1.07-1.94). Small non-significant excess risks were observed for quartz dust (OR= 1.27; 95% CI 0.83-1.93) and man-made vitreous fibers (MMVFs) (OR= 1.82, 95% CI 0.88-3.75). In female subjects, risks were non-significantly associated with paper dust (OR= 1.77, 95% CI 0.74-4.20), and unspecified DFs (OR= 1.52, 95% CI 0.77-3.03). Conclusions: The study showed increased lung cancer risk for selected categories of DFs