The Risk of Prostate Cancer from Occupational Exposures in Male Firefighters

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. Since prostate cancer is a slow developing cancer, mortality can be prevented if the tumour is detected and treated in its early stages. There is proof that environmental exposures can increase the risk of prostate cancer. Many papers have performed data analyses on prostate cancer levels in firefighters. There has been some research on firefighter prostate cancer levels but few reviews on the topic. This paper focuses on finding whether there is a correlation between firefighting occupation and levels of prostate cancer. As well, this paper notes potential carcinogens within the firefighting occupation. Five papers were included in this review; these papers used different methods to obtain the cases and cohorts for the study. The papers also used different controls for comparison. Nevertheless, the papers found in the search supported a positive correlation between exposures in firefighting occupations and the level of prostate cancer. The two chemicals that were suspected carcinogens in these studies were Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and fire smoke. However, future research can be more rigorous in calculations of prostate cancer levels by including lifestyle factors, other confounders such as smoking, and estimated length of exposure.