Introduction

In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2B), although the epidemiological evidence for the association between occupational exposure to RF-EMF and cancer was judged to be inadequate, due in part to limitations in exposure assessment. This study examines the relation between occupational RF and intermediate frequency (IF) EMF exposure and brain tumor (glioma and meningioma) risk in the INTEROCC multinational population-based case-control study (with nearly 4000 cases and over 5000 controls), using a novel exposure assessment approach.

Methods

Individual indices of cumulative exposure to RF and IF-EMF (overall and in specific exposure time windows) were assigned to study participants using a source-exposure matrix and detailed interview data on work with or nearby EMF sources. Conditional logistic regression was used to investigate associations with glioma and meningioma risk.

Results

Overall, around 10% of study participants were exposed to RF while only 1% were exposed to IF-EMF. There was no clear evidence for a positive association between RF or IF-EMF and the brain tumors studied, with most results showing either no association or odds ratios (ORs) below 1.0. The largest adjusted ORs were obtained for cumulative exposure to RF magnetic fields (as A/m-years) in the highest exposed category (≥90th percentile) for the most recent exposure time window (1–4 years before the diagnosis or reference date) for both glioma, OR = 1.62 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86, 3.01) and meningioma (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.65, 3.55).

Conclusion

Despite the improved exposure assessment approach used in this study, no clear associations were identified. However, the results obtained for recent exposure to RF electric and magnetic fields are suggestive of a potential role in brain tumor promotion/progression and should be further investigated.

中文翻译：

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INTEROCC 研究中的职业暴露于高频电磁场和脑肿瘤风险：个体化评估方法

介绍

2011 年，国际癌症研究机构将射频 (RF) 电磁场 (EMF) 归类为可能对人类致癌（第 2B 组），尽管流行病学证据表明职业暴露于 RF-EMF 与癌症之间存在关联。不足，部分原因是暴露评估的局限性。本研究在 INTEROCC 多国基于人群的病例对照研究（近 4000 例病例和超过 5000 例对照）中，使用一种新型暴露评估方法。

方法

使用源暴露矩阵和有关使用或附近 EMF 源的详细访谈数据，将 RF 和 IF-EMF 累积暴露（整体和特定暴露时间窗口）的单个指数分配给研究参与者。条件逻辑回归用于研究与神经胶质瘤和脑膜瘤风险的关联。

结果

总体而言，大约 10% 的研究参与者暴露于射频，而只有 1% 的人暴露于 IF-EMF。没有明确的证据表明 RF 或 IF-EMF 与所研究的脑肿瘤之间存在正相关，大多数结果显示没有相关性或优势比 (OR) 低于 1.0。在最近的暴露时间窗口（诊断或参考日期前 1-4 年）中最高暴露类别（≥90%）中累积暴露于 RF 磁场（以 A/m-年计）的最大调整 OR对于胶质瘤，OR = 1.62（95% CI：0.86, 3.01）和脑膜瘤（OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 0.65, 3.55）。

结论

尽管本研究中使用了改进的暴露评估方法，但没有发现明确的关联。然而，最近暴露于射频电场和磁场的结果表明在脑肿瘤促进/进展中的潜在作用，应进一步研究。