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Cancer incidence among laboratory workers in biomedical research and routine laboratories in Israel: Part I—the cohort study
Author(s) -
Shaham Judith,
Gurvich Rachel,
Kneshet Yael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10311
Subject(s) - medicine , cohort , incidence (geometry) , breast cancer , cohort study , cancer , thyroid cancer , population , standardized mortality ratio , epidemiology , occupational medicine , gynecology , oncology , environmental health , physics , optics
Background Laboratory work is associated with exposure to a mixture of carcinogens. Methods The cohort is comprised of 4,300 laboratory workers. Cancer incidence was followed from 1960 to 1997. Results A total of 230 cases were included in the cohort. The overall cancer standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was 1.04 (0.91–1.18). When a 20‐year latency was introduced, SIR was increased significantly: 1.35 (1.13–1.61). Among routine workers and researchers, SIR was elevated significantly for the total population and for women, when a 20‐year latency was introduced. SIR was also elevated significantly in research, routine, bacteriology and virology, and isotope laboratories. With respect to specific sites, significantly increased SIR was observed in breast, ovary, and thyroid cancer among women; and prostate cancer, leukemia, and melanoma among men. Conclusions We suggest that work in research and biomedical laboratories might involve an increased risk of certain types of cancer. Am. J. Ind. Med. 44:600–610, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.