Ma. Bulbulyan et al., CANCER MORTALITY AMONG MOSCOW SHOE WORKERS EXPOSED TO CHLOROPRENE (RUSSIA), CCC. Cancer causes & control, 9(4), 1998, pp. 381-387
Objectives: To assess the risk of cancer among workers of a Moscow (Ru
ssia) shoe factory exposed to chloroprene (2-chloro-1,3-butadiene) (CP
). Methods: This is a retrospective cohort mortality study among 5,185
shoe manufacturing workers employed between 1940 and 1976, and follow
ed from 1979 through 1993. Exposure to CP was assessed by linking the
job history with industrial hygiene data, We calculated standardized m
ortality ratios (SMR) using the Moscow population as reference, and co
nducted an internal comparison analysis based on Poisson regression mo
deling. Results: For the entire cohort, all-cause mortality was close
to expectation and all-cancer mortality was increased, There was an in
crease in the mortality from liver cancer (SMR = 2.4, 95 percent confi
dence interval [CI] = 1.1-4.3), kidney cancer (SMR = 1.8, CI = 0.9-3.4
), and leukemia (SMR = 1.9, CI = 1.0-3.3). Mortality from liver cancer
and leukemia was associated with various indicators of CP exposure, A
similar, although less consistent, pattern was found for kidney cance
r mortality; while for the remaining neoplasms, no association was sug
gested with CP exposure. Conclusions: The association between CP expos
ure and risk of leukemia may be due to concomitant exposure to benzene
, The results for liver cancer point towards a carcinogenic effect of
CP.