Cancer and Construction: What Occupational Historiesina Canadian Community Reveal

Abstract

From 2000 to 2002, male patients at a Canadian cancer treatment center with new-incident head-and-neck or esophageal cancers were invited to participate in a population-based study. The study population included 87 cases and 172 controls. A lifetime-history questionnaire was administered. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for occupational groups with a minimum of five cases, adjusted for duration of employment, age, smoking, alcohol, education, and income. A significantly increased risk was shown for construction workers (OR = 2.20; 95% CI 1.25-3.91). This investigation of a set of rare cancers over a limited time period demonstrates the feasibility of this research approach. The increased risk among construction workers supports the need for more comprehensive study of exposures in this occupational group.

Burying the Evidence: How Great Britain is Prolonging the Occupational Cancer Epidemic

“…Cancers including gliomas, head and neck cancers, 31 breast and hematopoietic cancers, all linked to work exposures, are among those largely or entirely ignored. 32,33 For instance, Germany and Denmark recognize bladder cancer in the metal industries where exposures to cadmium and epoxy resins may occur.…”