CANCER PREDICTIVE VALUE OF CYTOGENETIC MARKERS USED IN OCCUPATIONAL-HEALTH SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS - A REPORT FROM AN ONGOING STUDY BY THE EUROPEAN STUDY-GROUP ON CYTOGENETIC BIOMARKERS AND HEALTH

The cytogenetic endpoints in peripheral blood lymphocytes: chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclei (MN ) are established biomarkers of exposure for mutagens or carcinogens i n the work environment. However, it is not clear whether these biomark ers also may serve as biomarkers for genotoxic effects which will resu lt in an enhanced cancer risk. In order to assess this problem, Nordic and Italian cohorts were established, and preliminary results from th ese two studies indicated a predictive value of CA frequency for cance r risk, whereas no such associations were observed for SCE or MN. A co llaborative study between the Nordic and Italian research groups, will enable a more thorough evaluation of the cancer predictivity of the c ytogenetic endpoints. We here report on the establishment of a joint d ata base comprising 5271 subjects, examined 1965-1988 for at least one cytogenetic biomarker. Totally, 3540 subjects had been examined for C A, 2702 for SCE and 1496 for MN. These cohorts have been followed-up w ith respect to subsequent cancer mortality or cancer incidence, and th e expected values have been calculated from rates derived from the gen eral populations in each country. Stratified cohort analyses will be p erformed with respect to the levels of the cytogenetic biomarkers. The importance of potential effect modifiers such as gender, age at test, and time since test, will be evaluated using Poisson regression model s. The remaining two potential effect modifiers, occupational exposure s and smoking, will be assessed in a case-referent study within the st udy base. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.