Document 19NyE0zpYqjBk2xeomDmByQK

/ ftHefrcAJ Toofiy(*~ oF~ OCCUPATIONAL CANCER Or THE UlU.VAJtV Bt-tODCR IX DrrsTtTTS OPERATIVES AND or THE Luxe rs Asbestos Textile Workers axo Iron-Ore Miners l.i r **y Atui: .Sc i CEOItGLOvA M. BON'SER, M.D., J. S. FAULDS. MD., and M. J. STEWaUT, LL.D. U*irtrtitf tf Leeds a*d Cumhrfajtd Jmfirmarj, Cdrlitlt, mfiand . ..r* >(ifswr;tl Ar.v'iiic The study of occupational cancer has proved to be a valuable method of learning some aspects of the biology of cancer in its wider sense. This form of \3S I'lifumiiini (ort cancer is an unwitting experiment in man, but until it can be reproduced in Xirki:l animats at will, doubt must always exist as to the exact nature of the carcinogen involved and of its mode of action. The time lag between the observation that cancer occurs in those engaged in certain occupations and the successful induction of the disease in animals may bo very long. For example, Perwval Pott" de Irsstt (hematite f(.*nrfKunt scribed cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweep* in 1775, but it was not until ?* ( hklmw A 1922 that Paa*eyu induced cancer of the skin of mice by means ofan ether extract Jl of soot. Similarly, m 1S93, Rehn" described cancer of the bladder occurring in workers engaged in the manufacture of aniliue dyes, but it was not until 1937 f.'iferiratiitjc \t that Hueper and his co-workers" were able to induce bladder cancer in dogs by means of ingestion of tbe dye intermediates. So far no attempt has succeeded in f'strltthi \ reproducing the hug cancers of the Sehneeberg and Joschimstal miners' (Haert- . r% ing and Hesse, 1S79f Sikl, 1930"), though this disease has been known for cen .y/ >r Tar turies. The induction of a few local sarcomas in rats following injection of cobalt metal (Heath, 1954*) might be a stimulus to further experimental work, Actioic i' 'We are well advised to be ready to recognize new forms of hazard in any industrial process, but it is even more important to advise industry of the ' dangers that are likely to be inherent in tbe manufacture or use of suspected or proved carcinogen!. This was certainly done when the new plants for effecting l.ufuinnns |rri rftttni) the catalytic cracking of oils were set up (Symposium on a Cancer Control Program, 1951).**'' As such a variety of occupational cancers is now recognized, this presentation * *Viuir chemieril>yv tutenueOi is confined to making a classification of the moat important and to discussion of those with which the authors are moat familiar (Table 1). It seems hardly necessary' to say that, before it can be claimed that any particular form of cancer A very has an industrial origin, it must be shown that the incidence b significantly mphasizctl by higher in exposed workmen than it is in the general population. This not 'always easy, as morbidity statistics of cancer in most countries are not availabls, hospital statistics being quite fallaciously high. Secondly, in sites where there is high natural incidence, any occupational risk tends to be masked. sriven popututi. of *-\amp!e, thsreMtitniit wilK r 'tarifif/ma of r Received for publication August 31.10M; aecepte*!. Septender 35. IMt Dr. Bonser is Reader in Cancer Research, University of Letds, and Morhiil Anatomist (o St. James Hospital, I-cede; Dr. Faulds i Patlmlopsl, Cumlrland itovnl Infirmary. Carliilc; and Dr. Stewart U Emeritus Professor of Pathology, University of l.ceJe Kumpexiu pop Imputation the 'rfti(>:trecl with 1 I ta ,u .i.iei-ry.--^rgg;-wry,.T'. ....... v 8004 0044 HFM -011705 SCF-FA-4550