Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Occupational Cancer Burden

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Occupational Cancers

Abstract

Exposures encountered in the general environment and at work and the potential adverse health effects arising from them are the topic of a large body of multidisciplinary research and of public concern. Investigation involves both knowledge of the source and nature of the hazard and an understanding of the relationship of the exposure to the disease. Epidemiological studies of industrial workforces have played an important role in the identification of carcinogens and the understanding of the etiology of cancer. The working environment should not be a place where there is a risk of disease or injury, yet many thousands of workers worldwide are exposed to hazardous substances at work every day. Although substances related to occupational cancer are often associated with chemical exposures, especially man-made, a wider definition is needed to encompass all patterns of working.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Higginson J. Environmental carcinogenesis. Cancer. 1993;72:971–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJL. Global and regional burden of disease and risk factors, 2001: systematic analysis of population health data. Lancet. 2006;367:1747–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Brown ML, Lipscomb J, Snyder C. The burden of illness of cancer: economic cost and quality of life. Annu Rev Public Health. 2001;22:91–113.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Danaeii G, Vander Hoorn S, Lopez AD, Murray CJL, Ezzati M. Causes of cancer in the world: comparative risk assessment of nine behavioural and environmental risk factors. Lancet. 2005;366:1784–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Doll R, Peto R. The cause of cancer. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Dreyer L, Andersen A, Pukkala E. Avoidable cancers in the Nordic countries. Occupation. APMIS Suppl. 1997;76:68–79.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Driscoll T, Nelson DI, Steenland K, et al. The global burden of disease due to occupational carcinogens. Am J Ind Med. 2005;48:419–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Steenland K, Burnett C, Lalich N, Ward E, Hurrell J. Dying for work: the magnitude of US mortality from selected causes of death associated with occupation. Am J Ind Med. 2003;43:461–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Nurminen MM, Karjalainen A. Epidemiologic estimate of the proportion of fatalities related to occupational factors in Finland. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2001;27:161–213.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Vineis P, Simonato L. Proportion of lung and bladder cancers in males resulting from occupation: a systematic approach. Arch Environ Health. 1991;46:6–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Gustavsson P, Jakobsson R, Nyberg F, Pershagen G, Jarup L, Scheele P. Occupational exposure and lung cancer risk: a population-based case-referent study in Sweden. Am J Epidemiol. 2000;152:32–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Landrigan PJ, Markowitz S. Current magnitude of occupational disease in the United States: estimates for New York. In: Landrigan PJ, Selikoff IJ, editors. Occupational health in the 1990s. Developing a platform for disease prevention. New York: Annals of New York Academy of Science; 1989. p. 27–45.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Leigh JP, Markowitz SB, Fahs M, Shin C, Landrigan PJ. Occupational injury and illness in the United States. Arch Intern Med. 1997;157:1557–68.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Hodgson JT, Darnton A. The quantitative risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer in relation to asbestos exposure. Ann Occup Hyg. 2000;44:565–601.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Morrell S, Kerr C, Driscoll T, Taylor R, Salkeld G, Corbett S. Best estimate of the magnitude of mortality due to occupational exposure to hazardous substances. Occup Environ Med. 1998;55:634–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Landrigan PL, Schechter CB, Lipton JM, Fahs MC, Schwartz J. Environmental pollutants and disease in American children: estimates of morbidity, mortality and costs for lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and developmental disabilities. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110:721–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Deschamps F, Barouh M, Deslee G, Prevost A, Munck J. Estimates of work-related cancers in workers exposed to carcinogens. Occup Med. 2006;56:204–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Andersen A, Barlow L, Engeland A, Kjaerheim K, Lynge E, Pukkala E. Work-related cancer in the Nordic countries. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1999;25(Suppl 2):1–116.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Kjaerheim K, Martinsen JI, Lynge E, Gunnarsdottir HK, Sparen P, Tryggvadottir L, et al. Effects of occupation on risks of avoidable cancer in the Nordic countries. Eur J Cancer. 2010;46:2545–54.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Rushton L, Evans G, editors. The burden of occupational cancer in Britain. Br J Cancer. 2012;107:S1–108.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Levin M. The occurrence of lung cancer in man. Acta Unio Int Contra Cancrum. 1953;9:531–41.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Miettinen O. Proportion of disease caused or prevented by a given exposure, trait or intervention. Am J Epidemiol. 1974;99:325–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Hutchings SJ, Rushton L. The burden of occupational cancer in Britain. Statistical methodology. Br J Cancer. 2012;107:S8–17.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Lim S, Vos T, Flaxman AD, et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380:2224–60.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Cherrie JW, Hutchings S, Gorman Ng M, Mistry R, Corden C, Lamb L, Sanchez-Jimenez A, Shafrir A, Sobey M, van Tongeren M, Rushton L. Prioritizing action on occupational carcinogens in Europe: a socioeconomic and health impact assessment. Br J Cancer. 2017;117:274–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Cancer Care Ontario, Occupational Cancer Research Centre. Burden of occupational cancer in Ontario: major workplace carcinogens and prevention of exposure. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario; 2017. www.cancercare.on.ca/occupationreport.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Kauppinen T, Toikkanen J, Pedersen D, Young R, Kogevinas M, Ahrens W, et al. Carex. Occupational exposure to carcinogens in the European Union in 1990–93. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health; 1998. http://www.ttl.fi/en/chemical_safety/carex/Documents/1_description_and_summary_of_results.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Labour Force Survey. 2009. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/.

  29. ONS. 2009. Census of employment. https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/.

  30. Greenland S. Interval estimation by simulation as an alternative to and extension of confidence intervals. Int J Epidemiol. 2004;33:1389–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Steenland K, Armstrong B. An overview of methods for calculating the burden of disease due to specific risk factors. Epidemiology. 2006;17:512–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Rushton L, Hutchings SJ. The burden of occupationally-related cutaneous malignant melanoma in Britain due to solar radiation. Br J Cancer. 2017;116:536–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Hutchings SJ, Rushton L. Towards risk reduction: predicting the future burden of occupational cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;173(9):1069–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Zand M, Rushbrook C, Spencer I, Donald K, Barnes A. Costs to Britain of work-related cancer. HSE Research Report RR1074. 2016. http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr1074.pdf.

  35. Fritschi L, Chan J, Hutchings SJ, Driscoll TR, Wong AYW, Carey RN. The future excess fraction model for calculating burden of disease. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:386.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Carey R, Driscoll T, Peter S, Glass DC, Reid A, Benke G, Fritschi L. Estimated exposure to carcinogens in Australia (2011-2012). Occup Environ Med. 2014;71:55–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Fritschi L, Friesen MC, Glass D, et al. OccIDEAS: retrospective occupational exposure assessment in community-based studies made easier. J Environ Public Health. 2009;2009:957023. https://doi.org/10.1155/2009/957023.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Rushton L, Hutchings S, Fortunato L, Young C, Evans GS, Brown T, Bevan R, Slack R, Holmes P, Bagga S, Cherrie JW, Van Tongeren M. Occupational cancer burden in Great Britain. Br J Cancer. 2012;107:S3–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Hutchings SJ, Cherrie JW, Van Tongeren M, Rushton L. Intervening to reduce the future burden of occupationally-related cancers in Britain: what could work? Cancer Prev Res. 2012;5:1213–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Carey RN, Hutchings SJ, Rushton L, et al. The future excess fraction of occupational cancer among those exposed to carcinogens at work in Australia in 2012. Cancer Epidemiol. 2017;47:1–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Darnton AJ, McElvenny DM, Hodgson JT. Estimating the number of asbestos-related lung cancer deaths in Great Britain from 1980 to 2000. Ann Occup Hyg. 2006;50:29–38.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Hodgson JT, McElvenny DM, Darnton AJ, Price M, Peto J. The expected burden of mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain from 2002 to 2005. Br J Cancer. 2005;93:587–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Fritschi L, Driscoll T. Cancer due to occupation in Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2006;30(3):213–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Boffetta P, Autier P, Boniol M, Boyle P, Hill C, Aurengo A, et al. An estimate of cancers attributable to occupational exposures in France. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(4):399–406.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Parkin DM. Cancers attributable to occupational exposures in the UK in 2010. Br J Cancer. 2011;105:S70–2.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  46. Young C, Rushton L. Occupational cancer in Britain: skin cancer. Br J Cancer. 2012;107:S71–5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Trakatelli M, Ulrich C, del Marmol V, Eudvard S, Stockfleth E, Abeni D. Epidemiology of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) in Europe: accurate and comparable data are needed for effective public health monitoring and interventions. Br J Dermatol. 2007;156(Suppl 3):1–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Houseman TS, Feldman SR, Williford PM, Fleischer AB, Goldman ND, Acostamadiedo JM, Chen GJ. Skin cancer is among the most costly of all cancers to treat for the Medicare population. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003;48:425–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Hutchings S, Rushton L. Estimating the burden of occupational cancer: assessing bias and uncertainty. Occup Environ Med. 2017;74:604–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Cherrie JW, Van Tongeren M, Semple S. Exposure to occupational carcinogens in Great Britain. Ann Occup Hyg. 2007;51(8):653–64.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. IOSH. Institution for Occupational Safety and Health No Time to Lose Campaign. 2016. http://www.notimetolose.org.uk/. Date last accessed Oct 2017.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Lesley Rushton

  2. Division of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Sally J. Hutchings

  3. Section of Evidence Synthesis and Classification, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    Kurt Straif

Authors
  1. Lesley Rushton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sally J. Hutchings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kurt Straif
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lesley Rushton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Sisko Anttila

  2. Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Paolo Boffetta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Rushton, L., Hutchings, S.J., Straif, K. (2020). Occupational Cancer Burden. In: Anttila, S., Boffetta, P. (eds) Occupational Cancers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30766-0_32

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30766-0_32

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-30765-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-30766-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation