Occupation and gastric cancer

Abstract

Gastric cancer is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. There are several risk factors, with occupation emerging as one of these. There is considerable evidence that occupations in coal and tin mining, metal processing, particularly steel and iron, and rubber manufacturing industries lead to an increased risk of gastric cancer. Other “dusty” occupations—for example, wood processing, or work in high temperature environments have also been implicated but the evidence is not strong. The mechanism of pathogenesis of gastric cancer is unclear and the identification of causative agents can be difficult. Dust is thought to be a contributor to the pathological process, but well known carcinogens such as N-nitroso compounds have been detected in some environments. Further research on responsible agents is necessary and screening for detection of precursor gastric cancer lesions at the workplace merits consideration.

Airborne exposures and risk of gastric cancer: A prospective cohort study

“…[41][42][43][44] However, possible occupational exposures linked to a risk of gastric cancer have not been established, since the majority of previous studies have not addressed specific exposures, have not adjusted for potential confounders, or have revealed only weak associations without dose-response patterns. 10 Our finding of an increased risk of gastric cancer among workers exposed to cement dust is interesting. However, the highly exposed persons in our cohort mainly consisted of storage-workers who may be generally less fit than other workers, which would mean that confounding cannot be ruled out.…”

“…23 There have been reports on positive associations between various occupational groups and risk of gastric cancer, 10,12 notably ''dusty'' occupations, e.g., coal and tin mining, [24][25][26][27][28][29] metal processing, [30][31][32][33][34][35] rubber manufacturing [36][37][38][39][40] and carpentry or construction work. 10,12 Other dusty work environments have also been implicated in the etiology. [41][42][43][44] However, possible occupational exposures linked to a risk of gastric cancer have not been established, since the majority of previous studies have not addressed specific exposures, have not adjusted for potential confounders, or have revealed only weak associations without dose-response patterns.…”

“…10 One Swedish study showed an excess risk of gastric cancer among metal industry workers that seemed to increase with longer duration of employment. 35 Exposure to metal fumes is low in the construction industry as compared to the metal industry, and no association between exposure to metal fumes and risk of gastric cancer was detected in our study.…”

“…In many male-dominated industries, the exposure to carcinogenic agents is high, and the reduction of occupational chemical hazards in industrialized countries during recent decades 9 seems to have coincided with the falling incidence of gastric cancer, indicating a possible etiologic role of occupational exposures. In line with this, several occupations and ''dusty'' work environments have been implicated in the etiology of this disease, [10][11][12] but unfortunately, the scientific evidence regarding an association between dust exposure and risk of gastric cancer is insufficient and there is a need for further investigations of specific agents. 10 We hypothesized that specific airborne exposures, which often occur in the construction industry, such as dust, fumes and solvents, could be inhaled and swallowed and have a direct harmful effect on the gastric mucosa.…”

“…In line with this, several occupations and ''dusty'' work environments have been implicated in the etiology of this disease, [10][11][12] but unfortunately, the scientific evidence regarding an association between dust exposure and risk of gastric cancer is insufficient and there is a need for further investigations of specific agents. 10 We hypothesized that specific airborne exposures, which often occur in the construction industry, such as dust, fumes and solvents, could be inhaled and swallowed and have a direct harmful effect on the gastric mucosa. With the aim of clarifying the relation between such exposures and risk of gastric cancer in a male-dominated industry, we used prospectively collected data for a large cohort of Swedish construction workers.…”