Occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors and lymphoma risk in a multi-centric European study

Abstract

Background: Incidence rates of lymphoma are usually higher in men than in women, and oestrogens may protect against lymphoma. Methods: We evaluated occupational exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) among 2457 controls and 2178 incident lymphoma cases and subtypes from the European Epilymph study. Results: Over 30 years of exposure to EDCs compared to no exposure was associated with a 24% increased risk of mature B-cell neoplasms (P-trend=0.02). Associations were observed among men, but not women. Conclusions: Prolonged occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors seems to be moderately associated with some lymphoma subtypes.