PAHs and Cancer: Planning a Study in the Slovak Republic

描述(由申请人提供)： 建议制定一项全面和现实的计划，以研究与职业和环境暴露于多环芳烃(PAHs)有关的癌症风险。斯洛伐克共和国科西塞的政府科学家已经并将继续收集和维护以前未利用的多环芳烃职业和基于社区的定量暴露数据。数据还包括数百名接触过和未接触过的志愿者的细胞遗传学异常测试结果。尽管多环芳烃被认为是致癌物质，但流行病学文献对于哪些癌症风险增加以及暴露水平如何，并不一致。缺乏关于个别多环芳烃同系物和癌症风险的定量数据。为了确定现有数据是否适合在设计良好的流行病学研究中解决这些关键研究问题，提出了以下具体目标：1)评估现有的关于焦化厂员工和社区成员多环芳烃暴露监测的现有人口学、工作史和健康信息数据；2)评估现有的多环芳烃暴露数据，包括工业卫生措施和社区空气监测结果；3)建立和记录队列成员未来对癌症发病率和死因的随访程序，以及获得人口参考率数据；以及4)编制一项全面的研究计划，在现有数据允许的范围内，确定一项或多项关于多环芳烃同系物单独或混合与肺癌、膀胱癌和其他部位癌症风险之间关系的流行病学研究。将对现有数据进行计算机化，评估其完整性和质量，并评估其潜在的流行病学研究用途。在这项评估的基础上，将开发一个研究数据库和一个详细的研究计划，作为其他流行病学研究应用的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Developing a comprehensive and realistic plan to study the cancer risks associated with occupational and environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is proposed. Previously untapped quantitative PAH occupational and community-based exposure data have been and continue to be gathered and maintained by government scientists in Kosice, Slovak Republic. Data also include cytogenetic aberration test results on hundreds of exposed and non-exposed volunteers. Although PAHs are considered carcinogenic, the epidemiological literature is inconsistent in regards to which cancer risks are elevated and at what exposure level. There is a deficit of quantitative data on individual PAH congeners and cancer risk. The following Specific Aims are proposed to determine whether the existing data are appropriate to address these key research questions in a well-designed epidemiological study: 1) to evaluate existing demographic, work history, and health information data available on coke plant employees and community members that have been monitored for PAH exposure; 2) to assess existing PAH exposure data including both industrial hygiene measures and community air monitoring results; 3) to establish and document procedures for future follow-up of cohort members for cancer incidence and cause of death, as well as obtaining population reference rate data; and 4) to prepare a comprehensive research plan that identifies, to the extent permitted by the existing data, one or more epidemiological studies of the relationships between individual and mixtures of PAH congeners and risk of cancer of the lung, bladder and other sites. Existing data will be computerized, evaluated for completeness and quality, and assessed for their potential epidemiological research use. Based on this assessment, a research database will be developed as well as a detailed research plan, which will serve as a foundation for additional epidemiological research applications.