Renal cell cancer correlated with occupational exposure to trichloroethene

Abstract

A previous cohort-study in a cardboard factory demonstrated that high and prolonged occupational exposure to trichloroethene (C2HCl3) is associated with an increased incidence of renal cell cancer. The present hospital-based case/control study investigates occupational exposure in 58 patients with renal cell cancer with special emphasis on C2HCl3 and the structurally and toxicologically closely related compound tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4). A group of 84 patients from the accident wards of three general hospitals in the same area served as controls. Of the 58 cases, 19 had histories of occupational C2HCl3 exposure for at least 2 years and none had been exposed to C2Cl4; of the 84 controls, 5 had been occupationally exposed to C2HCl3 and 2 to C2Cl4. After adjustment for other risk factors, such as age, obesity, high blood pressure, smoking and chronic intake of diuretics, the study demonstrates an association of renal cell cancer with long-term exposure to C2HCl3 (odds ratio 10.80; 95% CI: 3.36-34.75).

Study on the cytochrome P-450- and glutathione-dependent biotransformation of trichloroethylene in humans

“…Henschler et al 1996;Swaen 1996). A small case-control study by Vamvakas et al (1998), conducted in the same area but on workers from other industries, seems to con®rm this suggestion, but questions have been raised about the design of this last study (Green and Lash 1999).…”

Re-assessment of the influence of polymorphisms of phase-II metabolic enzymes on renal cell cancer risk of trichloroethylene-exposed workers

“…Eligible cases were all incident, histologically veriWed, renal cell cancer cases that had undergone nephrectomy in the study region between 1 June 1992 and 30 April 2000. The study was consecutive to that by Vamvakas et al (1998), which had included cases diagnosed before June 1992. Hospital controls in the study were German nationals without dementia and with no diagnosis of cancer, according to hospital diagnosis.…”

“…This study had evaluated the renal cancer risk of trichloroethylene in the same geographical region as a previous study of Vamvakas et al (1998). In this study the exposure to trichloroethylene was selfassessed, and the job history was analysed by use of expert-based exposure information (Brüning et al 2003).…”

Urinary a 1 -microglobulin excretion as biomarker of renal toxicity in trichloroethylene-exposed persons

“…Very recently, a consecutive hospital-based casecontrol study of 134 renal cell cancer cases and 401 controls was published , which reevaluated the risk of trichloroethylene in the same geographical region as a previous study (Vamvakas et al 1998;see Discussion). Exposure to trichloroethylene was self-assessed, and the job history was analysed by use of expert-based exposure information .…”

“…This concern was primarily based on findings of increased incidences of renal cell cancers (Vamvakas et al 1998), accompanied by specific somatic mutations in the VHL tumour suppressor gene (Brauch et al 1999), in persons with long-lasting and high occupational exposures to trichloroethylene. Consistent with both human (Bru¨ning et al 1996(Bru¨ning et al , 1999a(Bru¨ning et al , 1999b and experimental animal data (Mensing et al 2002;McGoldrick et al 2003), it was postulated that the nephrocarcinogenicity of trichloroethylene is a highdose phenomenon.…”