Exposure to chlorinated solvents and lung cancer: results of the ICARE study

Francesca Mattei (1) , Florence Guida (1) , Mireille Matrat (2, 3) , Sylvie Cenée (4) , Diane Cyr (1, 5) , Marie Sanchez (1) , Loredana Radoi (1) , Gwenn Menvielle (1) , Fatima Jellouli , Matthieu Carton (1) , Simona Bara (6) , Emilie Marrer , Danièle Luce (7) , Isabelle Stücker (1)

1 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations
2 Unité de pathologie professionnelle
3 IMRB - Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale
4 Epidémiologie environnementale des cancers
5 UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
6 Registre des cancers de la Manche [CHPC - Site Louis Pasteur]
7 Irset - Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of occupational exposure to chlorinated solvents in lung cancer aetiology. METHODS: ICARE (Investigation of occupational and environmental CAuses of REspiratory cancers) is a French, multicentre, population-based, case-control study. Information on the lifelong work history of 2926 cases and 3555 controls was collected using standardised questionnaires. Occupational exposures were assessed using job-exposure matrices for five chlorinated solvents. Solvents were studied separately and in combinations. ORs were computed using unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for classic risk factors, including a history of cigarette smoking and exposure to asbestos. Adjustment for socioeconomic status (SES) was also made. RESULTS: After adjustment for exposure to asbestos, we observed a positive, statistically significant association with lung cancer for men and women exposed to a combination of perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene and dichloromethane (DCM). Further adjustment for SES slightly decreased this association. In contrast, no statistically significant associations were found for other solvent combinations. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that exposure to PCE may constitute a risk factor for lung cancer, especially among women, who seem to have a higher prevalence of exposure than men.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Francesca Mattei, Florence Guida, Mireille Matrat, Sylvie Cenée, Diane Cyr, et al.. Exposure to chlorinated solvents and lung cancer: results of the ICARE study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2014, 71 (10), pp.681--689. ⟨10.1136/oemed-2014-102182⟩. ⟨hal-01063908⟩