Herbicides,
chlorophenols, and other occupational exposures are suspected risk factors for
soft-tissue sarcoma, but the epidemiologic evidence is inconsistent. Given that
soft-tissue sarcomas represent a heterogeneous mix of
cancer subtypes and that these subtypes have different disease patterns by race, sex, and age at diagnosis, studying all
soft-tissue sarcomas combined may mask subtype-specific associations. Using the Selected
Cancers Study, a large population-based case-control study of
sarcoma conducted among U.S. men aged 30 to 60 in 1984 to 1988, we explored the occupational risk factors for
soft-tissue sarcoma subtypes and skeletal
sarcoma. The analysis included 251 living
sarcoma cases (48
dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, 32 malignant fibrohistiocytic
sarcoma, 67
leiomyosarcoma, 53
liposarcoma, and 51 skeletal
sarcoma) and 1908 living controls. Exact conditional logistic regression models suggested patterns of subtype specificity for occupational exposures. Self-reported
herbicide use was associated with malignant fibrohistiocytic
sarcoma (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.1-7.3). We found elevated risks for
chlorophenol exposure and cutting oil exposure and malignant fibrohistiocytic
sarcoma and
leiomyosarcoma. We found no occupational risk factor for
liposarcoma. Polytomous regression models identified different odds ratios across subtypes for plywood exposure and exposure to wood and saw dust. Although exploratory, this analysis suggests that occupational risk factors for
sarcoma are not uniform across subtypes.