Occupational cancer

Occupational cancer is defined as a blastomogenic reaction that occurs as a result of a person’s professional activity with regular, usually long-term, contact with certain exogenous chemical and physical agents that act quite intensively.

According to the definition of the WHO Expert Committee, an occupational carcinogen is a carcinogen that causes malignant tumors in men and women as a result of their professional activities.

Establishing a link between the occurrence of occupational diseases and the carcinogenic factors that cause them is complicated by the latent period of tumors, which can be very long. For example, occupational cancer (angiosarcoma of the liver) caused by the action of vinyl chloride monomer was discovered more than 40 years after the start of industrial use of this substance. Therefore, when identifying occupational oncological diseases, it is important to establish the occupational route of the patient and a retrospective analysis of the connection between the disease and the profession.

The impact on the occurrence of malignant neoplasms in men is more pronounced than in women, apparently due to the fact that occupational exposures in men are more often combined with more difficult working conditions and a greater prevalence of bad habits (smoking, alcohol abuse). The contribution of occupational exposures to mortality from various cancer localizations varies from 25 (pleura, sinuses and other respiratory organs except the lungs) to 1% (prostate gland).

The effects that cause occupational cancer cover almost all localizations of malignant neoplasms. The most common target organs of industrial carcinogenic effects are the lungs, gastrointestinal tract organs, skin, urinary bladder, hematopoietic and lymphatic tissues, and the central nervous system.

Carcinogenic hazards for people are posed by enterprises producing and using soot, coal tar and mineral oils; enterprises associated with the production and use of certain aromatic amino compounds; the production and use of asbestos; enterprises obtaining and refining arsenic, chromium and nickel.

Studies in various countries have shown that the most stable dependence of morbidity and mortality on occupational hazards is observed in lung cancer. They are highest in truck drivers, tractor drivers, asbestos workers and steel workers, i.e. in people who are in direct contact with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and asbestos. When working in contact with arsenic compounds for 25 years, the risk of lung tumors increases in workers by 8 times compared to the general population.

Increased cancer incidence has been proven with occupational exposure to isopropyl alcohol (cancer of the paranasal sinuses) and benzene (leukemia). Occupational cancer of the nasal cavity in workers in furniture and shoe factories is caused by wood and leather dust.

The occurrence of bladder cancer is associated with occupational hazards: exposure to aromatic amines in the production of dyes, rubber and textile industries. This also includes professions associated with exposure to paints and solvents, leather dust, ink, some metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and diesel combustion products. Occupational kidney cancer does not exclude the role of asbestos and the impact of work in hot smelting shops.

Currently, two trends are observed in the nature of occupational oncological diseases.

1. The number of professions in which occupational cancer is detected is steadily increasing. This is due to the fact that the number of chemical compounds synthesized in laboratories and produced by industry is increasing worldwide. According to available data, more than 5,000 new chemical compounds are introduced into consumption every year.
2. Increased incidence of not only primary cancer but also tumors of other localizations not typical for a given profession among workers in certain industries. For example, arsenic causes occupational cancer not only of the lung but also of the skin; asbestos affects, in addition to the lung, the pleura and peritoneum, also the gastrointestinal tract.

Thus, the problem of such a disease as occupational cancer has not lost its relevance even now. The number of new types of occupational oncological diseases caused by previously unknown industrial carcinogenic factors is increasing. At the same time, their carcinogenic effect affects not only workers, but also their offspring.

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