A case-control study of paternal occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma

Abstract

Background The risk factors for sporadic (i.e. non-familial) retinoblastoma remain largely unknown. However, some studies have suggested a role for paternal work activities, primarily in farming and the metalworking industry, in the development of childhood retinoblastoma. Objectives We examined the relationship between paternal occupational exposures from jobs held 10 years and one year prior to conception and the risk of sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma in children. Methods Paternal occupational data were obtained for 198 incident cases diagnosed with sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma from January 1998 to May 2006 and 245 referral-based controls from the case child’s relatives and friends who were matched to 135 of the cases on birth year. Industrial hygienists independently assigned exposure scores for nine agents, including estimates of probability, intensity, and frequency as well as an overall summary exposure score. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using logistic regression models, using the full sample of cases and controls as well as subset of cases with matched controls only. Results There was some indication of an elevated risk associated with paternal pesticide exposure in the 10 years prior to conception (OR= 1.64; 95% CI: 1.08-2.50) as well as in the year before conception (OR= 2.12; 95% CI: 1.25-3.61). However, results for pesticide exposure were inconsistent and varied by analysis approach. An increased risk was also observed for non-welding metal exposure during the 10 years prior to conception in the full (OR= 1.35; 95% CI: 0.86-2.12) and matched (OR= 1.40; 95% CI: 0.82-2.37) samples, but not in the year before conception. Exposure-response trends were observed for pesticides in the full sample (p for trend < 0.0001), and consistently across both samples for non-welding metal exposures. Conclusions Our findings suggest a potential role of paternal occupational exposures to non-welding metals and perhaps pesticides in the etiology of childhood retinoblastoma.

Parental occupational exposures and the risk of childhood sporadic retinoblastoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group

“…Only one study found paternal employment-related pesticide exposure in both the 10 years and 1 year before conception to be associated with offspring sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.50 and OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.25 to 3.61, respectively) 7. The study also found that higher levels of pesticide exposure (compared with moderate or none) relate to higher risks of bilateral disease.…”

“…Parental occupational agents of interest were the same as in a previous study of paternal occupational exposures and sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma7 and included pesticides, welding fumes, non-welding metals, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ionising radiation, paints, chlorinated and non-chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and non-paint VOCs. These agents have previously been associated with risk for childhood cancers 7 9 11–17…”

Residential Pesticide Exposures in Pregnancy and the Risk of Sporadic Retinoblastoma: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

“…Retinoblastoma has been related to residential exposure to air pollution, 7–9 parental occupational exposure to oil mists 10 and to parental employment in radio or television repair 11 , shoe or leather work 12 , electrical work, 12 or in the metal industry. 13, 14 Although the literature has shown fairly consistent associations between the home use of insecticides or herbicides and other childhood cancer types, 15, 16 thus far, findings on retinoblastoma have been equivocal. Parental employment as a pesticide applicator 17 or in horticultural, forestry or farm work 18–20 has been associated with a null or even weakly decreased risk for “childhood eye cancer” (all types combined) or retinoblastoma in previous studies, with the exception of the Agricultural Health Study that reported a higher risk (SIR,1.63; CI, 0.41–6.53) with wide confidence intervals.…”

“…Parental employment as a pesticide applicator 17 or in horticultural, forestry or farm work 18–20 has been associated with a null or even weakly decreased risk for “childhood eye cancer” (all types combined) or retinoblastoma in previous studies, with the exception of the Agricultural Health Study that reported a higher risk (SIR,1.63; CI, 0.41–6.53) with wide confidence intervals. 21 Only one study 22 found parental employment-related pesticide exposure to be associated with offspring bilateral retinoblastoma (OR, 2.12; CI, 1.25–3.61). For unilateral disease, increased risk was observed among children whose maternal grandfathers were farmers (OR, 10.0; CI, 1.4–433).…”

“…For unilateral disease, increased risk was observed among children whose maternal grandfathers were farmers (OR, 10.0; CI, 1.4–433). 14 With the exception of the latter two studies that observed positive associations, 14, 22 none of the others excluded familial cases, nor did they estimate risks separately for non-heritable and heritable disease. Only one previous study investigated the use of home insect or garden sprays, and suggested increases in risk for non-heritable retinoblastoma, but the sample size was very small and the estimates accordingly imprecise (OR, 2.7; CI, 0.6–15.6).…”