Introduction Several studies suggest that hormonal mechanisms may be associated with the development of uveal melanoma.

Objectives To study the association between the risk of uveal melanoma and exposure to hormonal exposures in a case-control study from nine European countries.

Methods Incident cases of uveal melanoma were frequency-matched to population and hospital controls by country, age and sex. Female subjects were asked about their reproductive history, use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives. Among males, occupational handling of oils while working with transformers or capacitors which contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) was solicited. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were calculated, adjusting for several potential confounders. Analyses were stratified by sex.

Results 293 cases (165 men, 128 women) and 3198 control subjects (2121 men, 1077 women) were interviewed. Among women, no associations were observed with hormonal status variables, intake of hormonal therapy or intake of oral contraceptives. Males showed an increased risk with occupational exposure to transformer/capacitor oils (OR 2.74; Bonferroni-corrected 99.3% CI 1.07 to 7.02). However, these results were based on few exposed subjects only.

Conclusions The results of this study do not support the hypothesis of a hormonal influence in the carcinogenesis of uveal melanoma. Our finding of a potentially increased risk with PCB-containing oils requires further research.