Occupation and soft-tissue sarcoma in northeastern Italy

Abstract

The influence of occupation and exposure to different agents on the risk of developing soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) was assessed in a case-control study based on 93 cases of STS (53 men and 40 women) and 721 controls (371 men and 350 women), conducted in northeastern Italy. No risk elevation was found in subjects employed in agriculture (odds ratio [OR] for greater than 10 years = 0.8, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 0.4-1.5), nor in those who reported exposure to pesticides or herbicides (OR = 0.4, CI = 0.1-1.2). Similarly, neither occupation in the furniture, upholstery, and mechanics industries, nor exposure to livestock or meat processing, wood dust, metal dust, and dyes or paints were associated with STS risk. Workers who reported exposure to chemical agents or to benzene or other solvents for more than 10 years had, respectively, a 1.8-fold (CI = 0.7-4.4) and a 2.2-fold (CI = 0.9-5.5) higher risk of developing STS. Although the small number of STS cases limits the interpretation of the study results, these findings weigh against the hypothesis that pesticides, herbicides, or other exposures related to agriculture, play an important role in the etiology of STS. The direct associations with exposure to chemical agents and benzene or other solvents, albiet not statistically significant, may provide a useful hint for future investigations.