relationship between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of lymphoid neoplasm

ABSTRACT

The etiology of malignant lymphoma is still largely unknown. This study determines the relation-ship between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of lymphoid neoplasms in Shiraz, Southern Iran. Between 2007 and 2008, in a case control study conducted in Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz, Southern Iran, 200 subjects diagnosed with lymphoma according to the World Health Organization [WHO] classification were enrolled. Controls [n=200] were frequency matched to the cases by sex, age, and center. Subjects who were a farmer were compared with all other occupations. Out of the 200 cases that were diagnosed as lymphoid neoplasms, 100 were non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 54 Hodgkin's lymphoma and 46 multiple myeloma. Seventy two percent of the NHL's were of the B-cell type, 15% of the T-cell type and the rest were not classified. Furthermore, subjects exposed to pesticides were at an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and MM, but not Hodgkin lymphoma. Risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and MM was highest for exposure to pesticides, among them, insecticide's risk was confirmed