Increased Risk of Gastric Cancer in Asbestos-Exposed Workers: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on Taiwan Cancer Registry 1980–2015

Asbestos has been recognized as a human carcinogen associated with malignant mesothelioma, cancers of lung, larynx, and ovary. However, a putative association between gastric cancer and asbestos exposure remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to explore gastric cancer risk of workers potenti...

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Published inInternational journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 14; p. 7521
Main Authors Fang, Yi-Jen, Chuang, Hung-Yi, Pan, Chih-Hong, Chang, Yu-Yin, Cheng, Yawen, Lee, Lukas Jyuhn-Hsiarn, Wang, Jung-Der
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 15.07.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Asbestos
Asbestos industry
Carcinogens
Cohort analysis
Confidence intervals
Environmental protection
Exposure
Factories
Female employees
Gastric cancer
Health risks
Heat resistance
Labor
Larynx
Male employees
Mesothelioma
Mortality
Occupational exposure
Occupational health
Population
Risk
Taiwan
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Summary:Asbestos has been recognized as a human carcinogen associated with malignant mesothelioma, cancers of lung, larynx, and ovary. However, a putative association between gastric cancer and asbestos exposure remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to explore gastric cancer risk of workers potentially exposed to asbestos in Taiwan. The asbestos occupational cohort was established from 1950 to 2015 based on the Taiwan Labor Insurance Database, and Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency regulatory datasets, followed by the Taiwan Cancer Registry for the period 1980–2015. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancer were computed for the whole cohort using reference rates of the general population, and also reference labor population. Compared with the general population, SIR of the asbestos occupational cohort for the gastric cancer increased both in males (1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.09) and females (1.10, 95% CI: 1.01–1.18). A total of 123 worksites were identified to have cases of malignant mesothelioma, where increased risk for gastric cancer was found with a relative risk of 1.76 (95% CI: 1.63–1.90). This 35-year retrospective cohort study of asbestos-exposed workers in Taiwan may provide support for an association between occupational exposure to asbestos and gastric cancer.
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ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18147521