Occupational risk factors for sarcoma subtypes

Herbicides, chlorophenols, and other occupational exposures are suspected r isk factors for soft-tissue sarcoma, but the epidemiologic evidence is inco nsistent. Given that soft tissue sarcomas represent a heterogeneous mix of cancer subtypes and that these subtypes have different disease patterns by race, sex, and age at diagnosis, studying all soft tissue sarcomas combined may mask subtype-specific associations. Using the Selected Cancers Study, a large population-based case-control study of sarcoma conducted among U.S. men aged 30 to 60 in 1984 to 1988, we explored the occupational risk facto rs for soft-tissue sarcoma subtypes and skeletal sarcoma. The analysis incl uded 251 living sarcoma cases (48 dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, 32 malig nant fibrohistiocytic sarcoma, 67 leiomyosarcoma, 53 liposarcoma, and 51 sk eletal sarcoma) and 1908 living controls. Exact conditional logistic regres sion models suggested patterns of subtype specificity for occupational expo sures. Self-reported herbicide use was associated with malignant fibrohisti ocytic sarcoma (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.1-7.3). We found elevated risks for ch lorophenol exposure and cutting oil exposure and malignant fibrohistiocytic sarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. We found no occupational risk factor for lipos arcoma. Polytomous regression models identified different odds ratios acros s subtypes for plywood exposure and exposure to wood and saw dust. Although exploratory, this analysis suggests that occupational risk factors for sar coma are not uniform across subtypes.