The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The proportion of cancer attributable to occupational exposures
Open accessAbstract
Purpose To review the literature on the estimation of the population attributable fraction (PAF) of cancer due to occupational exposures and to describe challenges in the estimation of this metric. To help illustrate the inherent challenges, we also estimate PAFs for selected cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2010 attributable to work as a painter (causally associated with bladder and lung cancer) and shift work (possibly associated with breast cancer).Methods We reviewed and summarized previous reports providing quantitative estimates of PAF for total cancer due to occupational exposures. We calculated PAF estimates for painters and shift work using methodology from a detailed investigation of the occupational cancer burden in Great Britain, with adaptations made for the US population.Results The estimated occupation-attributable fraction for total cancer generally ranged between 2% and 8% (men, 3%-14%; women, 1%-2%) based on previous reports. We calculated that employment as a painter accounted for a very small proportion of cancers of the bladder and lung diagnosed in the United States in 2010, with PAFs of 0.5% for each site. In contrast, our calculations suggest that the potential impact of shift work on breast cancer (if causal) could be substantial, with a PAF of 5.7%, translating to 11,777 attributable breast cancers.Conclusions Continued efforts to estimate the occupational cancer burden will be important as scientific evidence and economic trends evolve. Such projects should consider the challenges involved in PAF estimation, which we summarize in this report.
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“The variability in these findings may be related to other contributing factors, such as individual differences in susceptibility to carcinogenesis, occupational exposure to carcinogenic agents, and lifestyle [68,69].”
From Shift Work: Disrupted Circadian Rhythms and Sleep—Implications for Health and Well-being (2017) · cites this paper as [69]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Purdue, M. P., Hutchings, S. J., Rushton, L., & Silverman, D. T.
- Affiliations
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (CA)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- National Cancer Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Purdue, Mark P.
- Venue
- Annals of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-03
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 188-192
- ISSN
- 1047-2797 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4631263
- OpenAlex
- W1982873400
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 2.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Annals of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Cancer Institute (ZIACP010123)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Occupational and environmental lung diseases
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational Health and Safety in Workplaces
- Keywords
- occupational cancer, population attributable fraction, occupational exposure, painters, shift work, breast cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, cancer burden estimation
- MeSH terms
- Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Neoplasms, Occupational Diseases, United States, Occupational Exposure, Risk Assessment
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