Yu Kexin, Xiong Ying, Chen Renjie, Cai Jing, Huang Yaoxian, Kan Haidong
Shanghai Institute of Infectious Disease and Biosecurity, School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and NHC Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
Eco Environ Health. 2025 Apr 9;4(2):100146. doi: 10.1016/j.eehl.2025.100146. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) have been associated with certain cancers in the occupational population. This study aimed to investigate the associations between low-level ambient BTEX exposure and cancer risks in the general population. We leveraged data from the UK Biobank and included individuals free of cancer at 2006-2010 baseline. Annual concentrations of BTEX were estimated using a chemistry-climate model, and the associations between BTEX and incident overall and 18 site-specific cancers were investigated with Cox proportional hazard models. We also fitted restricted cubic splines to explore the exposure-response relationships. The study sample comprised 409,579 participants [mean age 56.2 (8.11) years; 219,315 (53.5%) females]. Over a mean (SD) follow-up period of 11.2 (2.64) years (4,597,164 person-years), 60,777 overall incident cancer cases occurred. The results showed significant associations between overall cancers and benzene [HR 1.93 (95% CI: 1.89, 1.96)], toluene [1.25 (1.23, 1.26)] and xylene [1.11 (1.10, 1.12)]. Benzene and toluene were associated with a higher risk of 18 site-specific cancers. For xylenes (a summation of ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, and o-xylene in the model), significant associations with multiple myeloma, hepatobiliary tract, thyroid, or connective soft tissue were not observed. Exposure-response curves suggested a higher risk of overall cancer beyond the benzene threshold. For toluene and xylene, there was no threshold or plateau across the range of exposures. This large-scale prospective cohort study demonstrates that long-term exposure to low-level ambient BTEX could increase the risk of overall and site-specific cancers in the general population.
苯、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯（BTEX）与职业人群中的某些癌症有关。本研究旨在调查一般人群中低水平环境BTEX暴露与癌症风险之间的关联。我们利用了英国生物银行的数据，并纳入了在2006 - 2010年基线时无癌症的个体。使用化学气候模型估计BTEX的年度浓度，并使用Cox比例风险模型研究BTEX与总体及18种特定部位癌症发病之间的关联。我们还拟合了受限立方样条以探索暴露 - 反应关系。研究样本包括409,579名参与者[平均年龄56.2（8.11）岁；219,315名（53.5%）女性]。在平均（标准差）11.2（2.64）年的随访期（4,597,164人年）内，共发生了60,777例总体癌症病例。结果显示总体癌症与苯[风险比（HR）1.93（95%置信区间：1.89, 1.96）]、甲苯[1.25（1.23, 1.26）]和二甲苯[1.11（1.10, 1.12）]之间存在显著关联。苯和甲苯与18种特定部位癌症的较高风险相关。对于二甲苯（模型中乙苯、间/对二甲苯和邻二甲苯的总和），未观察到与多发性骨髓瘤、肝胆管、甲状腺或结缔组织软组织有显著关联。暴露 - 反应曲线表明，超过苯阈值后总体癌症风险更高。对于甲苯和二甲苯，在整个暴露范围内没有阈值或平台期。这项大规模前瞻性队列研究表明，长期暴露于低水平环境BTEX可能会增加一般人群中总体癌症和特定部位癌症的风险。
