Original article

Scand J Work Environ Health 1991;17(3):159-169    pdf

https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1715 | Issue date: Jun 1991

A collaborative study of cancer incidence and mortality among vinyl chloride workers.

by Simonato L, L'Abbe KA, Andersen A, Belli S, Comba P, Engholm G, Ferro G, Hagmar L, Langard S, Lundberg I, et al.

A large European multicentric cohort study has been coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer with the objectives of investigating the dose-response relationship between liver cancer and exposure to vinyl chloride and assessing cancer risk for sites other than the liver. A nearly threefold increase in liver cancer was detected on the basis of 24 observed deaths and 8.4 expected (standardized mortality ratio 286, 95% confidence interval 186-425). The excess from liver cancer was clearly related to time since first exposure, duration of employment, and estimated ranked and quantitative exposures. Other cancer sites investigated on the basis of a priori hypotheses were either not in excess (lung) or apparently unrelated to the exposure variables (brain and lymphoma).