Pooled analysis of European case-control studies on the interaction of occupational carcinogens in the development of lung cancer (Synergy)

Status:

completed 11/2009

Aims:

When assessing the relationship between occupational exposure and disease, it is important to note that carcinogenic hazardous substances often do not occur individually but in combination with other agents (such as asbestos and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), quartz and radiation, or chromium and nickel). The assessment of health risks after multiple exposures, in particular of carcinogenic substances, is therefore of great importance for occupational health prevention and for the recognition of an occupational disease. However, the evaluation of occupational combination effects of carcinogenic substances is difficult, as extensive studies and reliable exposure assessments are required to study these effects reliably. Therefore, "SYNERGY" aimed at investigating the interaction of five model occupational carcinogens (hexavalent chromium (CrVI), nickel, PAH, quartz, and asbestos) and tobacco smoke in the development of lung cancer within the framework of population-based case-control studies.

Activities/Methods:

Our research approach focused on earlier studies, which were pooled into a large data set, to create a sufficiently large database to carry out statistically robust analyses of the combined effects of the five model carcinogens. International population-based case-control studies on lung cancer that collected data on lifelong occupational exposures and smoking behaviour were included. The pooled study thus provides one of the world's most comprehensive epidemiological data bases for the analysis of occupational lung cancer risks.

Results:

On the IPA project web page

Last Update: