Industrial and Occupational Exposures Research in OEEB
Workers often have heavier and more prolonged exposures to hazardous chemicals that also occur in the general environment but at lower levels. When excess risks are detected from workplace studies, they may provide important leads as to the etiology of cancer in other settings. Occupational studies conducted by OEEB investigators have identified many chemicals that cause cancer in humans, and they have provided direction for initiatives aimed at reducing or eliminating these carcinogens in the workplace and elsewhere.
Cohort Studies
Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study (DEMS)
In March 2012, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) completed a retrospective cohort mortality and nested case-control study of 12,315 workers at eight non-metal mining facilities to investigate risk of lung cancer in relation to quantitative measures of historical exposure to diesel exhaust, after taking into account smoking and other lung cancer risk factors.
Agricultural Health Study
A prospective cohort study of commercial pesticide applicators and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina, conducted in by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA)
The BEEA study, a subcohort for molecular epidemiologic investigations within the Agricultural Health Study, was conducted to better understand the biological mechanisms through which pesticides and other agricultural exposures may influence risk of various cancers.
Benzene-Exposed Workers in China
A binational, multidisciplinary study of Chinese benzene-exposed workers and unexposed workers from more than 700 factories in 12 cities
NCI Acrylonitrile Cohort
A study of 25,460 workers employed at eight facilities in the U.S. that produce or use acrylonitrile
Cohort Mortality Study of Dry Cleaning Industry Workers
A retrospective cohort study of 5,369 workers who were members of a dry cleaning union in St Louis, Missouri, between 1948 and 1978 for at least one year
Shanghai Women's Health Study
The Shanghai Women's Health Study, a collaborative study by NCI, Vanderbilt University, and the Shanghai Cancer Institute, is a prospective cohort study of approximately 75,000 women, which aims to evaluate the causes of cancer among Chinese women.
Research on Formaldehyde Exposure
Studies to investigate occupational formaldehyde exposure and cancer risk, including an industrial cohort study of over 25,000 workers, a case-control study of workers in the funeral industry, and a cross-sectional study to quantify leukemia-specific chromosome changes associated with formaldehyde exposure.
Cohort Mortality Study of Philadelphia Firefighters
A cohort study examining the mortality rate among 7,789 firefighters employed by the city of Philadelphia between 1910 and 1987. Later, these data were pooled with other studies to form a cohort totaling 29,993 U.S. firefighters.
Case-Control Studies with Occupational Components
Kidney Cancer
Case-Control Study of Renal Cell Cancer among Caucasians and African Americans in the United States
This population-based case-control study is evaluating risk factors for renal cell cancer to examine why rates of this disease are higher among U.S. blacks than whites.
Case-Control Study of Renal Cell Cancer in Eastern Europe
A hospital-based case-control study evaluating kidney cancer risks in relation to occupational and other environmental and lifestyle exposures in six centers across Eastern Europe
Bladder Cancer
New England Bladder Cancer Study
This population-based, case-control study of bladder cancer sought to explain the reasons for the persistent excess of rates of bladder cancer in the northern New England area.
Interdisciplinary Case-Control Study of Bladder Cancer in Spain
A large interdisciplinary case-control study of bladder cancer in 18 hospitals from five different regions in Spain
Lymphoma
NCI-SEER Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) Case-Control Study
A multi-center, population-based study of 1,321 NHL cases and 1,057 controls that includes detailed interview data, biospecimens, and environmental samples
AsiaLymph Study
A multi-center, international case-control study of lymphoma in Eastern Asia studying the occupational, environmental, and genetic contributions to lymphoid neoplasia