Occupational risk for oral cancer in nordic countries

Laura Tarvainen*, Juho Suojanen, Pentti Kyyronen, Christian Lindqvist, Jan Ivar Martinsen, Kristina Kjaerheim, Elsebeth Lynge, Par Sparen, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Elisabete Weiderpass, Eero Pukkala

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAnticancer Research
Volume37
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)3221-3228
Number of pages8
ISSN0250-7005
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2017

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • Cancer registry
  • Epidemiology
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Nordic countries
  • Tobacco

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