Occupational Exposures and Esophageal Cancer: Prog Study

Abstract

Esophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. In France, Brittany is one of the regions most seriously affected. This increased incidence is usually linked to high rates of alcohol overconsumption and smoking, established risk factors for esophageal cancer, but the region has special occupational exposures. We aim to describe the occupational exposures of patients with esophageal cancer. Between June and October 2020, we conducted a monocentric descriptive study in a French Teaching Hospital and identified 37 eligible patients. We gathered data through a systematic individual interview for each participant and by an analysis of their medical file. We were able to include 36 patients; most were men (n = 27, 75.0%) and smokers (n = 25, 69.4%), 21 (58.3%) presented an adenocarcinoma esophageal cancer, 13 (36.1%) a squamous cell cancer, and 2 other types. On occupational exposure, patients declared respectively high exposure by manipulating asbestos materials for 11 (30.6%) patients, regularly in contact with benzene by handling fuel in 7 cases (19.4%), chlorinated solvents in 4 cases (11.1%), pesticides in 4 cases, and ionizing radiation exposure in 3 patients (8.3%). Our findings support the creation of a large-scale study to explore the impact of occupational exposures, particularly exposure to asbestos and hydrocarbons.