Mortality and incidence of bladder cancer in benzidine‐exposed workers in China

Abstract

We examined bladder cancer mortality and incidence to 1981 in 1,972 workers employed in benzidine-exposed jobs in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Jilin, China, between 1972 and 1977, and in 1,974 unexposed workers employed during the same time period. In comparison to general population rates, in the benzidine-exposed group the ratio of observed to expected deaths (SMR) was 17.5 (95% C.I.: 7.5-34.5) and the ratio of observed to expected incident cases (SIR) was 25.0 (95% C.I.: 16.9-35.7). No excess was noted in the unexposed group. The 25-fold increase in bladder cancer incidence in the exposed group was related to level of exposure, with the SIR rising from 4.8 for low exposure to 36.2 for medium exposure, and 158.4 for high exposure. Risks were elevated both for producers of benzidine (SIR = 45.7; 95% C.I.: 20.9-86.8) and for users (SIR = 20.9; 95% C.I.: 12.9-32.0) of benzidine dyes. Benzidine-exposed workers who smoked tobacco had a 31-fold risk (95% C.I.: 20.4-46.4), while non-smoking workers had an 11-fold risk (95% C.I.: 3.6-25.8), suggestive of a multiplicative relationship between these two carcinogens.

The impact of interindividual variation in NAT2 activity on benzidine urinary metabolites and urothelial DNA adducts in exposed workers.

“…Although BZ was reportedly present in these workplaces (12,13), at least some subjects were also exposed to 2- To evaluate the risk of the NAT2 slow phenotype for bladder cancer among workers exposed exclusively to BZ, we identified a cohort of workers in China who had been employed in BZ production and use facilities. There was an overall 25-fold increased risk of bladder cancer among exposed workers, increasing to 158-fold for the most heavily exposed subjects (16). A case-control study of surviving bladder cancer cases from the cohort (17) showed that neither the slow NAT2 phenotype nor genotype was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer (odds ratio for slow phenotype = 0.3; 95% confidence interval = 0.1-1.3).…”

A Novel Tool for Detecting Amyloid Deposits in Systemic Amyloidosis In Vitro and In Vivo

“…Apple green birefringence under polarized light after Congo red staining is the most reliable evidence of the presence of amyloid fibrils in biopsy and/or autopsy materials from patients with amyloidosis (Sipe and Cohen, 2000;Westermark et al, 1999), although Congo red-stained histochemical sections are not always easy to interpret. However, the Congo red stain cannot be used for in vivo studies because it has toxic effects in the human body (Bi et al, 1992;Case et al, 1954;Kennelly et al, 1984;Zenser et al, 1998). Chrysamine G, a Congo red derivative with a similar molecular structure used for the same purpose as Congo red, has the same limitations (Dezutter et al, 1999(Dezutter et al, , 2001aKlunk et al, 1995Klunk et al, , 1998.…”

“…Compounds possessing the benzidine structure show carcinogenic effects when administered in vivo (Bi et al, 1992;Case et al, 1954). In contrast to Congo red, BSB may be beneficial in scintigraphic studies of systemic amyloidosis in humans, because it has no benzidine structure and can be easily modified at the Br position of the BSB molecule (Zhuang et al, 2001a(Zhuang et al, , 2001b.…”

Detection of Mutant p53 Protein in Workers Occupationally Exposed to Benzidine

“…Industrial hygiene data available for the cohort indicated that benzidine was the only arylamine to which the study subjects were exposed occupationally 3) . Job titles held by each worker were classified according to different exposure levels to benzidine, based on the classification criteria developed by Bi et al for this cohort 4) . These criteria were developed based upon knowledge of the operations in the facilities and available industrial hygiene data.…”