Association Between Occupation and Cancer Risk: A Large-Scale Case–Control Study in Japan
Menée à partir de données hospitalières japonaises portant sur 278 244 témoins et 146 994 patients atteints d'un cancer, cette étude analyse l'association entre la profession et le risque de développer la maladie en fonction du sexe et par localisation
Objective: To examine associations between occupation and overall and site-specific cancer risk in Japan.
Methods: We conducted a multicenter, hospital-based matched case–control study using the Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Survey of the Rosai Hospital Group (2005–2023), including 146,994 cancer cases and 278,244 matched controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate sex-specific adjusted odds ratios by occupations.
Results: Occupational disparities in cancer risk were observed, with more pronounced associations among men than women. Elevated risks were identified in manual and transport-related occupations, whereas lower risks were observed in selected professional occupations. Site-specific patterns varied by cancer type and sex.
Conclusions: Occupation is associated with cancer risk in Japan, showing distinct sex-specific and site-specific patterns. These findings underscore the importance of occupational context in cancer epidemiology and provide a hypothesis-generating framework highlighting behavioral and detection-related factors.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine , résumé, 2026