Cancer incidence among workers occupationally exposed to dinitrotoluene in the copper mining industry.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Epidemiological and toxicological studies point to a potential carcinogenic effect of dinitrotoluene (DNT), particularly with respect to renal and urothelial cancer.

METHODS:

The cohort comprised all men born between 1920 and 1974 (n = 16,441) who were gainfully employed between 1953 and 1990 in one of two underground copper mines in Mansfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, former German Democratic Republic, and who were followed up for cancer incidence, 1961-2005. Incident cancer cases were identified by record linkage with the Common Cancer Registry of the New Laender. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated with the general population of Saxony-Anhalt as the reference.

RESULTS:

Standardized incidence ratios for all cancers were not significantly elevated in the cohort (SIR = 1.04; 95 % confidence intervals (CI) 0.96-1.14). We found an increase in lung cancer (SIR = 1.29; 1.13-1.46), but not in kidney cancer (SIR = 1.01; 95 % CI 0.79-1.27) or bladder cancer (SIR = 1.04; 95 % CI 0.82-1.30). Standardized incidence ratios stratified by duration of employment with DNT exposure indicated moderately increased risks for kidney and bladder cancer in cohort members with longer exposure.

CONCLUSIONS:

The SIR analysis of workers in the copper mining industry in comparison with the general population of Saxony-Anhalt overall did not indicate increased risks for renal or bladder cancer. However, results by years of exposure to DNT suggested weakly increased risks for outcomes of a priori interest, bladder and kidney cancer. A subsequent case-cohort analysis including expert assessment of DNT exposure and identification of additional cancer cases from a network of pathology institutes will provide further insight into a potential etiologic role of DNT in renal and urothelial cancer.

• Authors: Andreas Seidler, Thomas Brüning, Dirk Taeger, Matthias Möhner, Katarzyna Gawrych, Annekatrin Bergmann, Johannes Haerting, Hermann Maximilian Bolt, Kurt Straif, Volker Harth
• Journal: International archives of occupational and environmental health (Int Arch Occup Environ Health) Vol. 87 Issue 2 Pg. 117-24 (Feb 2014) ISSN: 1432-1246 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 23274286 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Air Pollutants, Occupational
• Carcinogens
• Dinitrobenzenes
• 2,4-dinitrotoluene
• Copper
• 2,6-dinitrotoluene

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Air Pollutants, Occupational (adverse effects)
• Carcinogens (toxicity)
• Cohort Studies
• Copper
• Dinitrobenzenes (adverse effects)
• Germany (epidemiology)
• Humans
• Incidence
• Kidney Neoplasms (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Mining
• Neoplasms (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Occupational Diseases (chemically induced, epidemiology)
• Occupational Exposure (adverse effects)
• Urinary Bladder Neoplasms (chemically induced, epidemiology)