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Occupational exposure to flour dust and the risk of head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND
To investigate the association between head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) risk and occupational exposure to flour dust in women and men, using data from ICARE, a French population-based case-control study.


METHODS
The analysis included 2053 cases of HNSCC and 3507 controls. Lifelong occupational history was collected. A job-exposure matrix was used to assess exposure to flour dust. Odds-ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusted for smoking, alcohol drinking, and asbestos exposure, were estimated with logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Ever exposure to flour dust was associated with elevated ORs in women (OR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.01 4.55) and in men (OR = 1.55, 95%CI: 1.11 2.17). In women, the risk increased with the probability, the duration, and the cumulative level of exposure. No dose-response relationships were observed in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the results were less conclusive in men than in women, overall, these findings provide some support to the hypothesis of a role of flour dust in the occurrence of HNSCC.