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Objectives: Cervical cancer is caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). However, only a small proportion of women infected with HPV, progress to cervical cancer. Other co-factors must therefore be necessary to cause cervical cancer. We examined cervical cancer in relation to occupational exposure to metalworking fluids (MWF), which are complex mixtures containing several known carcinogens., Methods: A cohort of 4374 female autoworkers was followed from 1985-2004 for cancer diagnosis. Based on standardized incidence rates (SIR), we focused on cervical cancer in an internal analysis. Pooled logistic regression was used to model the relationship between exposure to three different types of MWF, selected constituents, and incidence of cervical cancer., Results: Based on 40 cases, SIR were statistically significantly elevated for both race specific subgroups: 3.30 and 2.43, respectively for Caucasian and black women. The standard mortality ratio (SMR) was also statistically significantly elevated for Caucasian women (3.44) based on seven observed deaths. There was no association with oil-based straight fluid. Relative risks for soluble and synthetic MWF and nitrosamines were modestly elevated but not statistically significant., Conclusions: Water-based MWF may play a role in the etiology of cervical cancer. Further studies in larger cohorts of women are needed to clearly establish this relationship.

Background: Occupational exposure to mineral oil-based metalworking fluids has been consistently linked with skin conditions such as contact dermatitis and squamous cell skin cancer, especially of the scrotum. We examined the incidence of malignant melanoma in a study of autoworkers., Methods: We followed a cohort of autoworkers from 1985 through 2004 for cancer incidence. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated in Cox models for cumulative exposure to total particulate of straight fluid (neat oil), soluble fluid (oil emulsified in water), and synthetic fluid (no oil). Exposure was partitioned into time windows by latency and by calendar periods defined by changes in the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in the refined oils. The population was restricted to workers born after 1935. We examined the date-of-birth restriction in a sensitivity analysis., Results: On the basis of 76 incident cases of malignant melanoma in the cohort of 14,139 white males, the HR was 1.99 (95% confidence interval = 1.00-3.96) for the highest category of straight fluid. Risk was greatest in the most recent time window. Penalized splines suggested a linear exposure-response over the full range of exposure. The change in HR for malignant melanoma per mg/m-year of straight fluid increased monotonically from 1.01 to 1.04, when the date-of-birth restriction increased from 1925 to 1945 in 5-year intervals. Results for soluble fluid were more modest. There was no association with synthetic fluid., Conclusions: Results provide evidence, based on quantitative measures of metalworking fluid, that oil-based fluid, particularly straight mineral oils, are associated with the incidence of malignant melanoma.