Firefighters face increased risk for certain cancersNovember 10, 2006CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers have determined that firefighters are significantly more likely to develop four different types of cancer than workers in other fields. Their findings suggest that the protective equipment firefighters have used in the past didn't do a good job in protecting them against cancer-causing agents they encounter in their profession, the researchers say. The researchers found, for example, that firefighters are twice as likely to develop testicular cancer and have significantly higher rates of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and prostate cancer than non-firefighters. The researchers also confirmed previous findings that firefighters are at greater risk for multiple myeloma.
Grace LeMasters, PhD, Ash Genaidy, PhD, and James Lockey, MD, report these findings in the November edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The UC-led study is the largest comprehensive study to date investigating cancer risk associated with working as a firefighter. "We believe there's a direct correlation between the chemical exposures firefighters experience on the job and their increased risk for cancer," says LeMasters, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC. Firefighters are exposed to many compounds designated as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)-including benzene, diesel engine exhaust, chloroform, soot, styrene and formaldehyde, LeMasters explains. These substances can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and occur both at the scene of a fire and in the firehouse, where idling diesel fire trucks produce diesel exhaust. "Firefighters work in an inherently dangerous occupation on a daily basis," LeMasters adds. "As public servants, they need-and deserve-additional protective measures that will ensure they aren't at an increased cancer risk." The UC-led team analyzed information on 110,000 firefighters, most of them full-time, white male workers, from 32 previously published scientific studies to determine the comprehensive health effects and correlating cancer risks of their profession. Risk for 20 different cancers was classified into three categories-probable, possible or not likely-patterned after the IARC's risk-assessment model. UC epidemiologists found that half the studied cancers-including testicular, prostate, skin, brain, rectum, stomach and colon cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma and malignant melanoma-were associated with firefighting on varying levels of increased risk. "There's a critical and immediate need for additional protective equipment to help firefighters avoid inhalation and skin exposures to known and suspected occupational carcinogens," says Lockey, professor of environmental health and pulmonary medicine at UC. "In addition, firefighters should meticulously wash their entire body to remove soot and other residues from fires to avoid skin exposure." University of Cincinnati | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Cancer Risk News Articles Scientists discover major genetic cause of colorectal cancer About one-third of colorectal cancers are inherited, but the genetic cause of most of these cancers is unknown. The genes linked to colorectal cancer account for less than 5 percent of all cases. Exposure to Agent Orange linked to prostate cancer in Vietnam veterans UC Davis Cancer Center physicians today released results of research showing that Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange have greatly increased risks of prostate cancer and even greater risks of getting the most aggressive form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed. Hip bone density helps predict breast cancer risk Measuring a woman's bone mineral density can provide additional information that may help more accurately determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. No need for gene screens in breast cancer families Research reported today should provide relief to women who are worried after a relative's breast cancer diagnosis. The study in the open access journal BMC Cancer shows that a family history of breast cancer does not give a useful indication of the likelihood that a woman will develop it herself at an early age. Researchers discover link between organ transplantation and increased cancer risk Researchers have determined a novel mechanism through which organ transplantation often leads to cancer, and their findings suggest that targeted therapies may reduce or prevent that risk. Aerosol toxins from red tides may cause long-term health threat NOAA scientists reported in the current issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives that an algal toxin commonly inhaled in sea spray, attacks and damages DNA in the lungs of laboratory rats. Overweight, insulin resistant women at greater risk of advanced breast cancer diagnosis, says study Women who have risk factors commonly associated with Type 2 diabetes also have much greater odds of being diagnosed with an advanced breast cancer. Faulty DNA repair could be a risk factor for lung cancer in nonsmokers People who have never smoked but whose cells cannot efficiently repair environmental insults to DNA are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those with effective genomic repair capability. Pregnancy may help protect against bladder cancer Pregnancy seems to confer some protection against bladder cancer in mice, scientists have found. Elevated biomarkers predict risk for prostate cancer recurrence A simple blood test screening for a panel of biomarkers can accurately predict whether a patient who has had prostate cancer surgery will have a recurrence or spread of the disease. More Cancer Risk News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||