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1 Respiratory and Environmental Health Research Unit, Municipal Institute of Medical Research; 2 Hematologia Oncologica and 3 Epidemiology and Cancer Registry, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain; 4 Department of Pathology, Hospital Verge de la Cinta, Tortosa, Spain; 5 Department of Pathology, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain; 6 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and 7 Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Requests for reprints: Silvia de Sanjose, Servei d'Epidemiologia & Registre del Cancer, Institut Catala d'Oncologia, Gran Via Km 2.7, 08907 L'Hospitalet, Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 34-93-260-7812; Fax: 34-93-260-7787. E-mail: s.sanjose{at}ico.scs.es
| Abstract |
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Methods: The Spanish lymphoma case-control study includes 519 newly diagnosed cases of lymphoid neoplasms and 554 hospital controls ages 20 to 80 years. Lymphomas were histologically or cytologically confirmed and classified according to the WHO classification. Lifetime occupational exposure to seven high molecular weight agents such as latex was evaluated through an asthma-specific job-exposure matrix and validated by an industrial hygienist. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were adjusted for age, sex, hospital, and occupational exposures.
Results: Subjects exposed to high molecular weight agents had an increased risk for Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 0.93-5.50), particularly nodular sclerosis (OR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.14-9.09). ORs did not increase with duration of exposure to these agents. Exposure to high molecular weight agents was not associated with risk of other B-cell lymphomas; for most specific subcategories of B-cell lymphoma, ORs were below unity. A slightly increased OR (95% CI) was seen for mycosis fungoides [1.60 (0.53-4.84)], although overall there was no increased risk for T-cell lymphomas.
Conclusions: Exposure to immunologically active agents among clinically immunocompetent subjects was associated with risk for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
| Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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The asthma JEM evaluates 22 occupational exposures of which 18 are characterized as "high risk" for asthma. The starting point for defining asthma risk was a list of >150 chemical and biological substances stratified into high and low molecular weight agents (15). This list was completed and updated. The differentiation between high and low molecular weight agents is arbitrary but has been extensively used in occupational asthma epidemiology and diagnosis and, to a large extent, is related to different mechanisms of action. The scheme followed in the JEM is hierarchical, with a few specific agents (e.g., latex and isocyanates) nested within larger groups. Both specific agents and mixed environments are evaluated. Each matrix cell contains a yes or no indication of exposure. The matrix favors specificity over sensitivity, and jobs are classified as exposed only if the probability of exposure is expected to be high for a considerable number of subjects in that job. The matrix also contains a category termed "needs individual reevaluation" for job codes considered that could benefit from a detailed evaluation of the textual job history by an expert (e.g., jobs for which exposures could differ greatly by industry).
Finally, the complete occupational history of all subjects classified as exposed is evaluated case-by-case by an expert. Seven of the exposures evaluated are high molecular weight agents that are protein-derived agents causing sensitization through an IgE-mediated mechanism. These agents are derived from plants (latex, flour, and other), animals (rodents, livestock, fish, and shellfish), biological enzymes, and mites that are known to produce asthma through an IgE-mediated mechanism. The JEM evaluates six low molecular weight agents that include a variety of organic and inorganic compounds that have not been consistently associated with an IgE-mediated mechanism: highly reactive chemicals (isocyanates, anhydrides, etc.), isocyanates as a separate exposure, sensitizing drugs, industrial cleaning agents, wood dusts, and metal sensitizers and fumes. The matrix also includes bioaerosols (moulds and endotoxins) and four mixed environments that have been associated with asthma (metal working fluids, irritant gases or fumes with moderate to high probability of accidental or periodic exposure to very high levels, exposures in textile, and agriculture with exposure to organic particles).
Finally, it includes three wide groups of agents that are not typically associated with asthma (low-level exposure to irritants, exposure to passive smoking, and fumes) and a large nonexposed group. Detailed occupational information for 174 subjects identified by the JEM as exposed to high molecular weight agents was reevaluated by an industrial hygienist (J.P.Z.), blindly as to case-control status, and 22 subjects were reclassified as nonexposed.
Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) for the different lymphoma categories and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) using the statistical package Stata version 8.0. All models evaluating exposure to high molecular weight agents were adjusted for the matching variables age (in 5 groups; 10 groups for Hodgkin's lymphoma due to the bimodal age pattern), sex, and area (three hospitals) and for the remaining four categories of occupational exposures evaluated by the matrix (low molecular weight agents, bioaerosols, mixed exposures, and other possible asthma-related exposures). Analyses in other populations have shown that workers may be exposed to more than one asthma-related occupational agent (9) and adjustment for all occupational exposures was kept in the final models irrespective of statistical significance or degree of modification of the ORs (16). Adjustment for prior asthma attacks and for socioeconomic status did not modify ORs and were not included in the final models.
| Results |
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Among controls, the risk of asthma diagnosed at least 1 year before hospitalization was associated with exposure to high molecular weight agents (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.78-3.47) and low molecular weight agents (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.79-2.66), although results were not statistically significant.
Table 2 describes the risk of lymphoma types associated with exposure to high molecular weight agents. Subjects exposed lifetime to high molecular weight agents had an increased risk for Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 0.93-5.50), with higher OR (95% CI) found for nodular sclerosis [3.22 (1.14-9.09)] than for other Hodgkin's lymphoma subtypes (e.g., mixed cellularity). Exposure to high molecular weight agents was not associated with risk of other B-cell lymphomas; for most specific subcategories of B-cell lymphoma, ORs were below unity. For chronic lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, long duration of exposure to high molecular weight was associated with lower ORs (P = 0.067, test for linear trend for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma). A slightly increased OR (95% CI) was seen for mycosis fungoides [1.60 (0.53-4.84)], although overall there was no observed risk for T-cell lymphomas.
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50 years. Risk did not increase with duration of exposure (OR, 2.29 for 1-5 years of exposure to high molecular weight agents compared with nonexposed; OR, 2.21 for >5 years; P > 0.05, test for linear trend). Exposure to high molecular weight agents among Hodgkin's lymphoma cases occurred in several occupations including nurses exposed to latex, animal production workers exposed to animal proteins, house dust mite in domestic cleaners, and bakers exposed to flour among others. An analysis of specific high molecular weight agents did not indicate a predominance of any specific agent associated with the increased risk. Exposure to other occupational agents evaluated by the JEM such as bioaerosols and low molecular weight agents (Table 3) was not associated with risk for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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| Discussion |
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The advantage of using an asthma-specific JEM is the evaluation of a group of agents that occur in a variety of jobs that have little in common. To increase specificity of exposure classification, the asthma JEM was coupled with expert assessment through a detailed evaluation of each job, industry, and tasks of persons identified through the JEM as exposed to high molecular weight agents. A limitation in this analysis is that we evaluated only exposures associated with asthma, whereas other exposures that also act through immunologic mechanisms in diseases such as atopic dermatitis or atopic rhinitis were not included. This could be particularly of interest for the evaluation of mycosis fungoides or nonHodgkin's lymphoma, respectively. In addition, some low molecular weight agents such as acid anhydrides and platinum salt act as haptens and have been associated with occupational asthma and the production of specific IgE. However, the presence of hapten-reactive IgE is only documented among few subjects exposed to these agents (17).
Information on occupation and on asthma were obtained at the time of subjects recruitment; therefore, our estimates are based on a retrospective assessment of exposure. To account for a minimal latency period, only those exposures that took place at least 12 months before the diagnosis were included in the analysis. Our case-control study was based on hospitalized patients with high participation rates for both cases and controls. A bias in our estimates could take place if some occupations or medical conditions affected hospitalization rates. Because this is highly probable for asthma, we were very cautious to exclude those patients that were hospitalized at the time of the study for asthma or related diseases or that reported a hospitalization related to asthma during the 12 months before the inclusion period. The resulting prevalence of ever asthma among our control population (10%) was similar to that observed in other large population series (19). We did not exclude any subject based on occupation, assuming no differential hospitalization rates by occupation. Furthermore, the basis of the analysis was exposure to specific agents that could occur in a variety of different occupations unlikely to have a common hospitalization referral pattern.
The approach followed in this analysis allowed an evaluation of the role of the immune system in the etiology of lymphomas among subjects that were clinically immunocompetent and provided clues for the association of occupational exposures and lymphomas.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Note: This case-control study was undertaken within the framework of the EPILYMPH international study. Part of this work was done while M. Kogevinas and S. de Sanjose were on sabbatical at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD).
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 1/28/04; revised 5/12/04; accepted 5/14/04.
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