Scandinavian Study Shows Cancer Rates in 5 Countries by Profession

The NOCCA (Nordic Occupational Cancer) project recently reviewed some 2.8 million cases of cancer in five Scandinavian countries: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

This project relates localization of cancers to the patient’s professional activities. It takes account of the professions exercised by 15 million persons in the last four decades (from the early 60s to the end of the 90s).

The results of the project show significant ties existing between working conditions and cancers. In certain cases, these results confirm ties that are already known, such as the relation between mesothelioma and professions involving exposure to asbestos (plumbers, sailors, etc.), skin cancers and fishermen and farmers who work outdoors, cancers of the nasal fossae and workers in the wood industry, a very large number of cancers in the building industry where workers are subjected to multiple exposure.

In other cases, the results of the project have brought new data.

For example, the project identified a greater prevalence of cancers of the mouth and the vagina among women working in the chemical industry; skin cancers and breast cancers (in both men and women) and ovarian cancers in people working in the printing industry; thyroid cancers among women working in agriculture.

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