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Colorectal cancer morbidity in a large cohort of asbestos cement workers from Denmark was examined. Information was obtained on workers employed between 1928 and 1984 at an asbestos cement product manufacturing facility; the cohort was followed through 1990. The workers were mainly exposed to high levels of chrysotile (12001295). The total cohort (7,887 men and 576 women) had a standardized incidence ratio of 1.23. There were 857 incident cancer cases among the men and 48 incident cancer cases among the women. The overall excess risk of colorectal cancer was confined to the period 15 years or more since first employment. Men employed in the early production period (1928 through 1950) had a particularly high standardized incidence ratio of 1.47. The excess risk of colorectal cancer morbidity was not confined to a particular region of the large bowel. The authors conclude that there appears to be a 50% excess risk of colorectal cancer morbidity among chrysotile exposed asbestos cement workers in both Sweden and Denmark; the role of chrysotile in the etiology of colorectal cancer remains uncertain.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 30(3):267-272, 1996. (26 references)
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