FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 316:1044-1050 April 23, 1987 Number 17 Next

	Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

Abstract

To assess quantitatively the association between benzene exposure and leukemia, we examined the mortality rate of a cohort with occupational exposure to benzene. Cumulative exposure for each cohort member was estimated from historical air-sampling data and, when no sampling data existed, from interpolation on the basis of existing data. The overall standardized mortality ratio (a measure of relative risk multiplied by 100) for leukemia was 337 (95 percent confidence interval, 154 to 641), and that for multiple myeloma was 409 (95 percent confidence interval, 110 to 1047). With stratification according to levels of cumulative exposure, the standardized mortality ratios for leukemia increased from 109 to 322, 1186, and 6637 with increases in cumulative benzene exposure from less than 40 parts per million-years (ppm-years), to 40 to 199, 200 to 399, and 400 or more, respectively. A cumulative benzene exposure of 400 ppm-years is equivalent to a mean annual exposure of 10 ppm over a 40-year working lifetime; 10 ppm is the currently enforceable standard in the United States for occupational exposure to benzene. To examine the shape of the exposure-response relation, we performed a conditional logistic-regression analysis, in which 10 controls were matched to each cohort member with leukemia. From this model, it can be calculated that protection from benzene-induced leukemia would increase exponentially with any reduction in the permissible exposure limit.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Lichtman, M. A. (2008). Is There an Entity of Chemically Induced BCR-ABL-Positive Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia?. The Oncologist 13: 645-654 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• CAVALIERI, E., ROGAN, E. (2006). Catechol Quinones of Estrogens in the Initiation of Breast, Prostate, and Other Human Cancers: Keynote Lecture. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1089: 286-301 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• INFANTE, P. F (2006). Benzene Exposure and Multiple Myeloma: A Detailed Meta-analysis of Benzene Cohort Studies.. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1076: 90-109 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• MEHLMAN, M. A (2006). Dangerous and Cancer-Causing Properties of Products and Chemicals in the Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industries. Part XXX: Causal Relationship between Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and Benzene-Containing Solvents.. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1076: 110-119 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• WAN, J-X, ZHANG, Z-B, GUAN, J-R, CAO, D-Z, YE, R, JIN, X-P, XIA, Z-L (2006). Genetic polymorphism of toxicant-metabolizing enzymes and prognosis of chinese workers with chronic benzene poisoning.. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1076: 129-136 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• KIRKELEIT, J., RIISE, T., BRATVEIT, M., MOEN, B. E. (2006). Benzene Exposure on a Crude Oil Production Vessel. ANN OCCUP HYG 50: 123-129 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Infante, P F, Sorahan, T, Kinlen, L J, Doll, R (2005). Cancer risks in a UK benzene exposed cohort * Authors' reply. Occup. Environ. Med. 62: 905-906 [Full Text]  
• Bullman, T. A., Mahan, C. M., Kang, H. K., Page, W. F. (2005). Mortality in US Army Gulf War Veterans Exposed to 1991 Khamisiyah Chemical Munitions Destruction. Am. J. Public Health 95: 1382-1388 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• VERMEULEN, R., LI, G., LAN, Q., DOSEMECI, M., RAPPAPORT, S. M., BOHONG, X., SMITH, M. T., ZHANG, L., HAYES, R. B., LINET, M., MU, R., WANG, L., XU, J., YIN, S., ROTHMAN, N. (2004). Detailed Exposure Assessment for a Molecular Epidemiology Study of Benzene in Two Shoe Factories in China. ANN OCCUP HYG 48: 105-116 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Collins, J J, Ireland, B, Buckley, C F, Shepperly, D (2003). Lymphohaematopoeitic cancer mortality among workers with benzene exposure. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: 676-679 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Willett, E V, McKinney, P A, Fear, N T, Cartwright, R A, Roman, E (2003). Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields and acute leukaemia: analysis of a case-control study. Occup. Environ. Med. 60: 577-583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Robien, K., Ulrich, C. M. (2003). 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Polymorphisms and Leukemia Risk: A HuGE Minireview. Am J Epidemiol 157: 571-582 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• MEHLMAN, M. A. (2002). Carcinogenic Effects of Benzene: Cesare Maltoni's Contributions. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 982: 137-148 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Williams, K. E., Carver, T. A., Miranda, J. L., Kautiainen, A., Vogel, J. S., Dingley, K., Baldwin, M. A., Turteltaub, K. W., Burlingame, A. L. (2002). Attomole Detection of in Vivo Protein Targets of Benzene in Mice: Evidence For A Highly Reactive Metabolite. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 1: 885-895 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• EGEGHY, P. P., NYLANDER-FRENCH, L., GWIN, K. K., HERTZ-PICCIOTTO, I., RAPPAPORT, S. M. (2002). Self-collected Breath Sampling for Monitoring Low-level Benzene Exposures among Automobile Mechanics. ANN OCCUP HYG 46: 489-500 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cavalieri, E. L., Li, K.-M., Balu, N., Saeed, M., Devanesan, P., Higginbotham, S., Zhao, J., Gross, M. L., Rogan, E. G. (2002). Catechol ortho-quinones: the electrophilic compounds that form depurinating DNA adducts and could initiate cancer and other diseases. Carcinogenesis 23: 1071-1077 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Duarte-Davidson, R, Courage, C, Rushton, L, Levy, L (2001). Benzene in the environment: an assessment of the potential risks to the health of the population. Occup. Environ. Med. 58: 2-13 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lewis, R J., Schnatter, A R., Katz, A. M, Thompson, F S, Murray, N., Jorgensen, G., Thériault, G. (2000). Updated mortality among diverse operating segments of a petroleum company. Occup. Environ. Med. 57: 595-604 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shalat;, B. D. G. S. L., Bergsagel, D. E., Wong, O., Bergsagel, P. L., Alexanian, R., Anderson, K. C., Kyle, R. A., Raabe, G. K. (2000). The causal relation between benzene exposure and multiple myeloma. Blood 95: 1512-1513 [Full Text]  
• Bergsagel, D. E., Wong, O., Bergsagel, P. L., Alexanian, R., Anderson, K., Kyle, R. A., Raabe, G. K. (1999). Benzene and Multiple Myeloma: Appraisal of the Scientific Evidence. Blood 94: 1174-1182 [Full Text]  
• Ostrowski, S. R., Wilbur, S., Chou, C.-H. S. J., Pohl, H. R., Stevens, Y.-W., Allred, P. M., Roney, N., Fay, M., Tylenda, C. A. (1999). Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's 1997 priority list of hazardous substances. Latent effects--carcinogenesis, neurotoxicology, and developmental deficits in humans and animals. Toxicol Ind Health 15: 602-644 [Abstract]  
• Larson, R. A., Wang, Y., Banerjee, M., Wiemels, J., Hartford, C., Beau, M. M. L., Smith, M. T. (1999). Prevalence of the Inactivating 609Cright-arrowT Polymorphism in the NAD(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase (NQO1) Gene in Patients With Primary and Therapy-Related Myeloid Leukemia. Blood 94: 803-807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• SCHACKE, G. (1998). Stress and Work. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 851: 511-525 [Full Text]  
• Krstic, G. (1994). Benzene: Chains of Influence in Deciding Exposure Limits. Indoor and Built Environment 3: 22-34 [Abstract]  
• Hubert, Y. H., Dupont, J.-M. (1992). Anemophoresis: The Primary Prevention of Occupational Diseases. Indoor and Built Environment 1: 251-255  
• Feron, V.J., Til, H.P., de Vrijer, F., van Bladeren, P.J. (1992). Review : Toxicology of Volatile Organic Compounds in Indoor Air and Strategy for Further Research. Indoor and Built Environment 1: 69-81 [Abstract]