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Chronic disease
SP1-6 No effect of hormonal exposures on uveal melanoma
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  1. T Behrens1,
  2. L Kaerlev2,3,
  3. I Cree4,
  4. J M Lutz5,
  5. N Afonso6,
  6. M Eriksson7,
  7. P Guenel8,9,
  8. F Merletti10,
  9. M Morales-Suarez-Varela11,12,
  10. A Stengrevics13,
  11. S Sabroe3,
  12. D Cyr9,14,
  13. A Llopis-Gonzalez11,
  14. G Gorini15,
  15. L Hardell7,
  16. G Sharkova16,
  17. W Ahrens1,17
  1. 1Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine, Bremen, Germany
  2. 2Center for National Clinical Databases South, Department of Research and HTA, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
  3. 3Department of Epidemiology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
  4. 4Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
  5. 5Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, National Institute for Cancer Epidemiology and Registration (NICER), ISPM Zürich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
  6. 6Serviço de Oncologia Médica, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia, Porto, Portugal
  7. 7Department of Oncology, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
  8. 8Inserm, CESP Center for Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Environmental Epidemiology of Cancer, Villejuif, France
  9. 9University Paris-Sud, UMRS 1018, Villejuif, France
  10. 10Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, University of Turin, CERMS and CPO, Piemonte, Italy
  11. 11Unit of Public Health and Environmental Care, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  12. 12Research group CIBER CB06/02/0045 CIBER actions—Epidemiology and Public Health, Valencia, Spain
  13. 13Latvia Cancer Registry, Riga, Latvia
  14. 14INSERM Unité 687, Villejuif, France
  15. 15Epidemiology and Public Health; Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology Unit, ISPO Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, Florence, Italy
  16. 16P. Stradin's Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
  17. 17Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

Abstract

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.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2011.142976m.83

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