Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8(9), 3579-3590; doi:10.3390/ijerph8093579
Article

Cancer Incidence of 2,4-D Production Workers

Carol Burns 1,* email, Kenneth Bodner 1 email, Gerard Swaen 2 email, James Collins 1 email, Kathy Beard 3 email and Marcia Lee 4 email
1 The Dow Chemical Company, Epidemiology, 1803 Building, Midland, MI 48674, USA 2 Dow Benelux BV, Gaspeldoorn 24, Maastricht, Limburg, 6226WR, The Netherlands 3 The Dow Chemical Company, Industrial Hygiene, 1803 Building, Midland, MI 48674, USA 4 The Dow Chemical Company, Occupational Health, 607 Building, Midland, MI 48674, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 June 2011; in revised form: 27 August 2011 / Accepted: 30 August 2011 / Published: 2 September 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Cancer)
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Abstract: Despite showing no evidence of carcinogenicity in laboratory animals, the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) has been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in some human epidemiology studies, albeit inconsistently. We matched an existing cohort of 2,4-D manufacturing employees with cancer registries in three US states resulting in 244 cancers compared to 276 expected cases. The Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR) for the 14 NHL cases was 1.36 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.74–2.29). Risk estimates were higher in the upper cumulative exposure and duration subgroups, yet not statistically significant. There were no clear patterns of NHL risk with period of hire and histology subtypes. Statistically significant results were observed for prostate cancer (SIR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.57–0.94), and “other respiratory” cancers (SIR = 3.79, 95% CI 1.22–8.84; 4 of 5 cases were mesotheliomas). Overall, we observed fewer cancer cases than expected, and a non statistically significant increase in the number of NHL cases.
Keywords: 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; cancer; occupation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Burns, C.; Bodner, K.; Swaen, G.; Collins, J.; Beard, K.; Lee, M. Cancer Incidence of 2,4-D Production Workers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8, 3579-3590.

AMA Style

Burns C, Bodner K, Swaen G, Collins J, Beard K, Lee M. Cancer Incidence of 2,4-D Production Workers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2011; 8(9):3579-3590.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Burns, Carol; Bodner, Kenneth; Swaen, Gerard; Collins, James; Beard, Kathy; Lee, Marcia. 2011. "Cancer Incidence of 2,4-D Production Workers." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 8, no. 9: 3579-3590.

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