DIESEL EXHAUST, DIESEL FUMES, AND LARYNGEAL-CANCER

A hospital-based, case-control study of 235 male patients with larynge al cancer and 205 male control patients was conducted to determine the effects of exposure to diesel engine exhaust and diesel fumes and the risk of laryngeal cancer, All patients were interviewed directly in t he hospital with a standardized questionnaire that gathered informatio n on smoking habits, alcohol consumption, employment history, and occu pational exposures, Occupations that involve substantial exposure to d iesel engine exhaust include mainly truck drivers, as well as mine wor kers, firefighters, and railroad workers. The odds ratio for laryngeal cancer associated with these occupations was 0.96 (95% confidence int erval, 0.5 to 1.8). The odds ratio for self-reported exposure to diese l exhaust was 1.47 (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 4.1), An elevated risk was found for self-reported exposure to diesel fumes (odds ratio, 6.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 22.6). No association was observ ed between jobs that entail exposure to diesel fumes, such as automobi le mechanics, and the risk of laryngeal cancer, These results show tha t diesel engine exhaust is unrelated to laryngeal cancer risk. The dif ferent findings for self-reported diesel fumes and occupations that in volve exposure to diesel fumes could reflect a recall bias.