IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i2p205-d1336762.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Benzene Exposure and Lung Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Studies

Author

Listed:
  • Manuela Chiavarini

    (Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Section of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, 60126 Ancona, Italy)

  • Patrizia Rosignoli

    (Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Beatrice Sorbara

    (Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Irene Giacchetta

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Public Heath, School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Roberto Fabiani

    (Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Section of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, 60126 Ancona, Italy)

Abstract

Lung cancer is a leading cause of death with nearly 1.8 million deaths estimated worldwide in 2020. Although benzene is classified as a human carcinogen (Group 1) on the basis of its association with acute myeloid/non-lymphocytic leukaemia, there is still limited evidence that it may influence lung cancer risk. This study examined the potential link between benzene exposure and risk of lung cancer using a systematic review of epidemiological studies and meta-analysis. We searched through PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases up to 10 February 2023 to identify all articles on the association between benzene exposure and lung cancer (incidence or prevalence) and/or mortality. We extracted the risk estimates of the highest and the lowest reported categories of benzene exposure and conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity and publication bias were analysed using an I 2 test and funnel plots asymmetry, respectively. Twenty-one studies were included in the final analysis, with a total of 10,750 lung cancer cases and 2899 lung cancer deaths. Overall, risk estimates of lung cancer prevalence and mortality in association with benzene exposure were 1.20 ( n = 14; 95% CI 1.05–1.37) and 1.15 ( n = 13; 95% CI 1.02–1.30), respectively. In all cases, heterogeneity was quite large, while no significant publication bias was observed. When only studies that adjusted for smoking habit were selected, the risk for lung cancer increased by up to 34% ( n = 9; 95% CI 1.10–1.64). Our data, which show a strong association between benzene exposure and lung cancer risk, may have important public health implications. However, further studies are needed to identify the lung cancer risk associated with benzene exposure considering different smoking conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Manuela Chiavarini & Patrizia Rosignoli & Beatrice Sorbara & Irene Giacchetta & Roberto Fabiani, 2024. "Benzene Exposure and Lung Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:2:p:205-:d:1336762
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/205/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/205/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paolo Collarile & Ettore Bidoli & Fabio Barbone & Loris Zanier & Stefania Del Zotto & Simonetta Fuser & Fulvio Stel & Chiara Panato & Irene Gallai & Diego Serraino, 2017. "Residence in Proximity of a Coal-Oil-Fired Thermal Power Plant and Risk of Lung and Bladder Cancer in North-Eastern Italy. A Population-Based Study: 1995–2009," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-11, July.
    2. Hong-Bae Kim & Jae-Yong Shim & Byoungjin Park & Yong-Jae Lee, 2018. "Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollutants and Cancer Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, November.
    3. Diana Poli & Paola Mozzoni & Silvana Pinelli & Delia Cavallo & Bruno Papaleo & Lidia Caporossi, 2022. "Sex Difference and Benzene Exposure: Does It Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vanessa Santos-Sánchez & Juan Antonio Córdoba-Doña & Javier García-Pérez & Antonio Escolar-Pujolar & Lucia Pozzi & Rebeca Ramis, 2020. "Cancer Mortality and Deprivation in the Proximity of Polluting Industrial Facilities in an Industrial Region of Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Yue Wang & Yi Huang & Chen Li, 2023. "The Effects of Air Pollutants on Mortality in the Elderly at Different Ages: A Case of the Prefecture with Most Serious Aging in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Paola Mozzoni & Diana Poli & Silvana Pinelli & Sara Tagliaferri & Massimo Corradi & Delia Cavallo & Cinzia Lucia Ursini & Daniela Pigini, 2023. "Benzene Exposure and MicroRNAs Expression: In Vitro, In Vivo and Human Findings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    4. David Rojas-Rueda & Emily Morales-Zamora & Wael Abdullah Alsufyani & Christopher H. Herbst & Salem M. AlBalawi & Reem Alsukait & Mashael Alomran, 2021. "Environmental Risk Factors and Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-38, January.
    5. Miyoun Shin & Ok-Jin Kim & Seongwoo Yang & Seung-Ah Choe & Sun-Young Kim, 2022. "Different Mortality Risks of Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Matter across Different Cancer Sites," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    6. Jing Sui & Hui Xia & Qun Zhao & Guiju Sun & Yinyin Cai, 2022. "Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and the Risk of Chronic Liver Diseases: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Jan Gawełko & Marek Cierpiał-Wolan & Second Bwanakare & Michalina Czarnota, 2022. "Association between Air Pollution and Squamous Cell Lung Cancer in South-Eastern Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-14, September.
    8. Shih-Chiang Hung & Hsiao-Yuan Cheng & Chen-Cheng Yang & Chia-I Lin & Chi-Kung Ho & Wen-Huei Lee & Fu-Jen Cheng & Chao-Jui Li & Hung-Yi Chuang, 2021. "The Association of White Blood Cells and Air Pollutants—A Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-13, March.
    9. Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, 2021. "Why We Will Continue to Lose Our Battle with Cancers If We Do Not Stop Their Triggers from Environmental Pollution," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-19, June.
    10. Ling Pan & Jing Sui & Ying Xu & Qun Zhao & Yinyin Cai & Guiju Sun & Hui Xia, 2023. "Effect of Fine Particulate Matter Exposure on Liver Enzymes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-11, February.
    11. Noémie Letellier & Sam E. Wing & Jiue-An Yang & Stacy W. Gray & Tarik Benmarhnia & Loretta Erhunmwunsee & Marta M. Jankowska, 2022. "The Role of Neighborhood Air Pollution Exposure on Somatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Mutations in the Los Angeles Basin (2013–2018)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-10, September.
    12. Bingkui Qiu & Min Zhou & Yang Qiu & Yuxiang Ma & Chaonan Ma & Jiating Tu & Siqi Li, 2021. "An Integration Method for Regional PM 2.5 Pollution Control Optimization Based on Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Kung-Min Wang & Kun-Huang Chen & Chrestella Ayu Hernanda & Shih-Hsien Tseng & Kung-Jeng Wang, 2022. "How Is the Lung Cancer Incidence Rate Associated with Environmental Risks? Machine-Learning-Based Modeling and Benchmarking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Omolola Okunromade & Jingjing Yin & Clara Ray & Atin Adhikari, 2022. "Air Quality and Cancer Prevalence Trends across the Sub-Saharan African Regions during 2005–2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    15. Benjamin Atta Owusu & Apiradee Lim & Nitinun Pongsiri & Chanthip Intawong & Sunthorn Rheanpumikankit & Saijit Suksri & Thammasin Ingviya, 2023. "Latent Trajectories of Haematological, Hepatic, and Renal Profiles after Oil Spill Exposure: A Longitudinal Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.
    16. Valérie Lederer & Karen Messing & Hélène Sultan-Taïeb, 2022. "How Can Quantitative Analysis Be Used to Improve Occupational Health without Reinforcing Social Inequalities? An Examination of Statistical Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:2:p:205-:d:1336762. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.