Laura Tarvainen1, Juho Suojanen2, Pentti Kyyronen3, Christian Lindqvist4,2, Jan Ivar Martinsen5, Kristina Kjaerheim5, Elsebeth Lynge6, Par Sparen7, Laufey Tryggvadottir8,9, Elisabete Weiderpass5,7,10,11, Eero Pukkala3,12. 1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland laura.tarvainen@fimnet.fi. 2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. 3. Finnish Cancer Registry, Institute for Statistical and Epidemiological Cancer Research, Helsinki, Finland. 4. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. 5. Department of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Institute of Population-Based Cancer Research, Oslo, Norway. 6. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 7. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 8. Icelandic Cancer Registry, Reykjavik, Iceland. 9. Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland. 10. Genetic Epidemiology Group, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland. 11. Department of Community Medicine, University of Tromso, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway. 12. School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
Abstract
AIM: To evaluate occupational risk for cancer of the tongue, oral cavity or pharynx after adjustment for alcohol and tobacco use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data covered 14.9 million people and 28,623 cases of cancer of the tongue, oral cavity and pharynx in the Nordic countries 1961-2005. Alcohol consumption by occupation was estimated based on mortality from liver cirrhosis and incidence of liver cancer. Smoking by occupation was estimated based on the incidence of lung cancer. RESULTS: Only few occupations had relative risks of over 1.5 for cancer of the tongue, oral cavity and pharynx. These occupations included dentists, artistic workers, hairdressers, journalists, cooks and stewards, seamen and waiters. CONCLUSION: Several occupational categories, including dentists, had an increased relative risk of tongue cancer. This new finding remains to be explained but could be related to occupational chemical exposures, increased consumption of alcohol and tobacco products, or infection with human papilloma virus. Copyright
AIM: To evaluate occupational risk for cancer of the tongue, oral cavity or pharynx after adjustment for alcohol and tobacco use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data covered 14.9 million people and 28,623 cases of cancer of the tongue, oral cavity and pharynx in the Nordic countries 1961-2005. Alcohol consumption by occupation was estimated based on mortality from liver cirrhosis and incidence of liver cancer. Smoking by occupation was estimated based on the incidence of lung cancer. RESULTS: Only few occupations had relative risks of over 1.5 for cancer of the tongue, oral cavity and pharynx. These occupations included dentists, artistic workers, hairdressers, journalists, cooks and stewards, seamen and waiters. CONCLUSION: Several occupational categories, including dentists, had an increased relative risk of tongue cancer. This new finding remains to be explained but could be related to occupational chemical exposures, increased consumption of alcohol and tobacco products, or infection with human papilloma virus. Copyright