Ann Occup Environ Med.  2019 ;31(1):e32. 10.35371/aoem.2019.31.e32.

Relationship between occupational sunlight exposure and the incidence of renal cancer

• Jang HS
• Leem JH
• Jeon SS
• Park SG
• Lee S
• Kang Y
• Choi G
• Kim HD
• Ju H
• Jang SW
• Won Y
• Kim HC

• KMID: 2466076
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2019.31.e32

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The risk factors for renal cancer include smoking, obesity, hypertension, and exposure to trichloroethylene. Recent studies have shown that low sunlight exposure increases the risk of developing a range of cancers, including renal cancer. Given that most of the daytime is spent at work, a lack of occupational sunlight exposure can be a risk factor for renal cancer. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between occupational sunlight exposure and the incidence of renal cancer.
METHODS
This was a university hospital-based case-control study on renal cancer. Of the 706 newly diagnosed patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), 633 cases were selected; 73 who had no occupational history were excluded. In addition, 633 controls were selected from the general population after 1:1 matching with respect to sex, age (within 5 years), and residential area (constituency-level). Information on sunlight exposure by the occupational group was referred to data from France. To estimate the association between occupational sunlight exposure and the RCC risk, the odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
Sunlight exposure was divided into quartiles and the risk of RCC was analyzed. The adjusted OR of RCC (OR: 0.664, 95% confidence interval: 0.449-0.983) was significantly lower for the Q4 group than Q1 group but the Q2 and Q3 groups did not show significant results. The risk of RCC tended to decrease with increasing exposure to sunlight (p for trend < 0.028).
CONCLUSIONS
Higher occupational sunlight exposure reduces the risk of RCC.

Keyword

Occupational sunlight exposure; Renal cancer; Renal cell carcinoma

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Renal Cell
Case-Control Studies
France
Humans
Hypertension
Incidence*
Kidney Neoplasms*
Logistic Models
Obesity
Occupational Groups
Odds Ratio
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Sunlight*
Trichloroethylene
Smoke
Trichloroethylene