Occupational exposure to flour dust and the risk of head and neck cancer

Abstract

Background: To investigate the association between head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) risk and occupational exposure to flour dust in women and men, using data from ICARE, a French population-based case-control study.

Methods: The analysis included 2053 cases of HNSCC and 3507 controls. Lifelong occupational history was collected. A job-exposure matrix was used to assess exposure to flour dust. Odds-ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusted for smoking, alcohol drinking, and asbestos exposure, were estimated with logistic regression models.

Results: Ever exposure to flour dust was associated with elevated ORs in women (OR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.01 4.55) and in men (OR = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.11 2.17). In women, the risk increased with the probability, the duration, and the cumulative level of exposure. No dose-response relationships were observed in men.

Conclusions: Although the results were less conclusive in men than in women, overall, these findings provide some support to the hypothesis of a role of flour dust in the occurrence of HNSCC.

Keywords: case-control study; flour dust; head and neck cancer; occupational exposure.