Comments
Populations exposed to high-dose radiation from the atomic bomb and from radiotherapy for ankylosing spondylitis had increased risk for stomach cancer. "Because the large literature on occupational exposures and gastric cancer risk is not strikingly consistent, the data need cautious interpretation." For the following chemicals, the evidence is weak for a causal relationship: asbestos, silica, wood dust, chlorophenols. Many studies show a positive association between gastric cancer and occupational exposure to mineral/metal dusts, nitrosamines, and some metalworking fluids. [Adami, p. 180-1] Substantial evidence exists for a causal association between heavy exposure to asbestos and stomach cancer. Strong evidence exists for coal miners, and some evidence exists for ethylene oxide production, painters, and exposure to sulfates and sulfites in the pulp and paper industry. [Ward, p. 462-3] There was suggestive evidence of increased occupational stomach cancer in painters and workers in the rubber industry. [Siemiatycki, p. 334] Negative associations were found in studies of ionizing radiation and stomach cancer in radiologists, underground miners, nuclear workers, and uranium processors. There was a suggested but unconfirmed or questionable association between Mayak workers heavily exposed to plutonium and stomach cancer. [Boice, p. 261] "Occupational exposures in the rubber-manufacturing industry cause leukemia, lymphoma, and cancers of the urinary bladder, lung, and stomach." [IARC 2012: Occupational Exposures in the Rubber-Manufacturing Industry]