matrix

In the OCCAM project, a special attention has been paid to the information from the scientific literature.

A major drawback in OCCAM-like studies is the huge number of risk estimates; it is likely that some of them will appear only by chance. To interpret OCCAM results a special tool for skilled and unskilled operators in the occupational health fiels has been prepared. This tool is based on the literature about occupational cancer. This tool is based on a “literature matrix”; its aim is to allow to all people involved in occupational medicine to decide about the potential of a neoplasm to be of occupational origin.

Literature search started with IARC Monographs (Vol.1-55) where epidemiological studies on various substanced and production processes are reported. Furthermore, a sistematic search using appropriate keywords has been carried out on the database of U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed), 8600 Rockville, Bethesda, Maryland. The keywords used were:

922 scientific papers have been reviewed from 74 journals reporting (Table) epidemiological studies, mainly cohort or case-control or prevalence (cross- sectional); case reports were excluded. To be included in the “matrix” were considered papers with results reporting:

The database has been organized by economic sector and cancer site/type. Each record classified using these two axes has:

In this database only results showing increased risk were considered. “Negative” studies are not included. (Hernberg, 1981).

TABLE: Journals used to build up the matrix.

Acta Otolaryngojatrica International Journal of Cancer
American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal International Journal of Epidemiology
American Journal Industrial Medicine International Journal of Occupational Environmental Health
American Journal Occupational Medicine International Journal of Oncology
American Journal of Epidemiology Israel Journal Medical Sciences
American Journal Public Health Japanese Journal of Cancer Research
American Revue of Respiratory Disease Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Annals of Epidemiolology Journal of National Cancer Institute
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Annals of Oncology Journal of Occupational Medicine
Applied Occupational Environmental Hygiene Journal of Work and Environmental Health
Archives des Maladies Professionelles et de Medicine du Travail et de Securite Sociale La Medicina del Lavoro
Archives of Environmental Health Lancet
Aviation Space Environmental Medicine Medical Oncology
British Journal of Cancer Medicina (Kaunas)
British Journal of Industrial Medicine Medycyna Pracy
British Medical Journal Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease
Canadian Journal Public Health National Institute of Health Publications
Canadian Medical Association Journal New Zealand Medical Journal
Cancer NIOSH Publications
Cancer Causes and Control Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Cancer Detection and Prevention Occupational Medicine (London)
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention Oncology Reports
Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics Preventive Medicine
Cancer Research Rapporti ISPESL
Chemosphere Revista Clinica Espanola
Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine (Chung-Hua Yu Fang i Hsueh Tsa Chih) Revue d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique
Critical Reviews in Toxicology Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health
Danish Medical Bullettin Social-und Praventiv medizin
Environmental Health Perspectives The European Respiratory Journal
Epidemiologia e Prevenzione The registrar-general's decennial supplement - London, her majesty's stationery office
Epidemiology The Science of theTotal Environment
European Journal of Cancer Toxicology
European Journal of Epidemiology Toxicology and Industrial Health
European Journal of Haematology Tumori
Giornale Italiano di Medicina del Lavoro Urologiia i Nefrologiia (Mosk)
Industrial Health Zeitschrift für die gesamte Hygiene und Ihre Grenzgebiete
International Archive of Occupational and Environmental Health