TY - JOUR
T1 - Alachlor use and cancer incidence in the agricultural health study
T2 - An updated analysis
AU - Lerro, Catherine C.
AU - Andreotti, Gabriella
AU - Koutros, Stella
AU - Lee, Won Jin
AU - Hofmann, Jonathan N.
AU - Sandler, Dale P.
AU - Parks, Christine G.
AU - Blair, Aaron
AU - Lubin, Jay H.
AU - Beane Freeman, Laura E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Affiliations of authors: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (CCL, GA, SK, JNH, AB, LEBF); Department of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (WJL); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC (DPS, CGP); Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (JHL).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (Z01-CP010119), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (Z01-ES049030).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/9/1
Y1 - 2018/9/1
N2 - Background: The herbicide alachlor has been widely used in US agriculture since its introduction in 1969. Experimental animal studies show that alachlor causes tumors in vivo; however, few epidemiologic studies have examined associations with human cancer risk. We evaluated alachlor use and cancer incidence in the Agricultural Health Study, updating an earlier analysis that suggested associations with lymphohematopoietic cancers with an additional 540 142 person-years of follow-up and 5113 cancer cases. Methods: Pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina reported lifetime alachlor use at enrollment (1993 1997) and follow-up (1999 2005). Exposure was characterized by cumulative intensity-weighted days. We estimated relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Poisson regression for incident cancers from enrollment through 2012(NC)/2013(IA). Models adjusted for age, tobacco, alcohol, and other pesticides. All statistical tests are two-sided. Results: Among 49 685 applicators, 25 640 (51.6%) used alachlor, with 3534 alachlor-exposed cancers. The relative risks of laryngeal cancer (nexposed 34) increased in the second (RR 4.68, 95% CI 1.95 to 11.23), third (RR 6.04, 95% CI 2.44 to 14.99), and fourth quartiles (RR 7.10, 95% CI 2.58 to 19.53) of intensity-weighted days of use compared with no use (Ptrend .001). Risk of myeloid leukemia was elevated, though not statistically significantly so, in the fourth quartile of intensityweighted days of use (RR 1.82, 95% CI 0.85 to 3.87, Ptrend .17). Conclusions: We observed a strong positive association with use of alachlor and laryngeal cancer and a weaker association with myeloid leukemia. The strength and robustness of the association with laryngeal cancer suggests that long-termoccupational exposure to alachlor may be a risk factor for laryngeal cancer. This first report requires confirmation.
AB - Background: The herbicide alachlor has been widely used in US agriculture since its introduction in 1969. Experimental animal studies show that alachlor causes tumors in vivo; however, few epidemiologic studies have examined associations with human cancer risk. We evaluated alachlor use and cancer incidence in the Agricultural Health Study, updating an earlier analysis that suggested associations with lymphohematopoietic cancers with an additional 540 142 person-years of follow-up and 5113 cancer cases. Methods: Pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina reported lifetime alachlor use at enrollment (1993 1997) and follow-up (1999 2005). Exposure was characterized by cumulative intensity-weighted days. We estimated relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Poisson regression for incident cancers from enrollment through 2012(NC)/2013(IA). Models adjusted for age, tobacco, alcohol, and other pesticides. All statistical tests are two-sided. Results: Among 49 685 applicators, 25 640 (51.6%) used alachlor, with 3534 alachlor-exposed cancers. The relative risks of laryngeal cancer (nexposed 34) increased in the second (RR 4.68, 95% CI 1.95 to 11.23), third (RR 6.04, 95% CI 2.44 to 14.99), and fourth quartiles (RR 7.10, 95% CI 2.58 to 19.53) of intensity-weighted days of use compared with no use (Ptrend .001). Risk of myeloid leukemia was elevated, though not statistically significantly so, in the fourth quartile of intensityweighted days of use (RR 1.82, 95% CI 0.85 to 3.87, Ptrend .17). Conclusions: We observed a strong positive association with use of alachlor and laryngeal cancer and a weaker association with myeloid leukemia. The strength and robustness of the association with laryngeal cancer suggests that long-termoccupational exposure to alachlor may be a risk factor for laryngeal cancer. This first report requires confirmation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85054095121&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jnci/djy005
DO - 10.1093/jnci/djy005
M3 - Article
C2 - 29471327
AN - SCOPUS:85054095121
SN - 0027-8874
VL - 110
SP - 950
EP - 958
JO - Journal of the National Cancer Institute
JF - Journal of the National Cancer Institute
IS - 9
ER -
