Occupation and risk of germ cell testicular cancer by histologic type in Ontario

Incidence of both major histologic subgroups of germ cell testicular cancer, seminoma and nonseminoma, is increasing, but the etiology is largely unknown. Occupational clusters have been observed. In a case-control study in Ontario with 495 incident cases and 974 population control subjects, jobs and industries were coded and analyzed. There is little evidence of occupational risk for all cases or for seminoma. Significantly increased risk of nonseminoma was associated with: miners (odds ratio [OR] = 12.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.22 to 69.27), food and beverage processors (OR = 3.20; 95% CI, 1.39 to 7.35), utilities employees (OR 3.15; 95% CI, 1.15 to 8.61), and other service workers (OR 1.05; 95% CI, 1.05 to 4.56). Leather-industry employees had elevated risk of nonseminoma (OR = 4.60; 95% CI; 0.75 to 28.28) consistent with a bather tannery cluster. Increased risk of nonseminoma among some workers can be explained if an additional event is required for converting seminoma to nonseminoma.