Noise trauma in the aetiology of acoustic neuromas in men in Los Angeles County, 1978-1985.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether occupational and other suggested brain tumour risk factors relate to the development of acoustic neuromas (AN) in men. Responses to interviews were compared for 86 AN patients and 86 neighbourhood controls. During the period 10 or more years before the year of diagnosis of the case, more cases than controls had a job involving exposure to extremely loud noise; noise exposure was determined by a blinded review of job histories and linkage to the National Occupational Hazards Survey data base (odds ratio (OR) = 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.12, 4.67). A dose-response analysis showed an increase in risk related to number of years of job exposure to extremely loud noise (P for trend = 0.02) with an OR of 13.2 (CI = 2.01, 86.98) for exposure for 20 or more years during the period up to 10 years before diagnosis. We propose that the findings in this study which identify noise as a risk factor support the hypothesis that mechanical trauma may contribute to tumorigenesis.

[1]  E. P. Pendergrass,et al.  Roentgen doses during diagnostic procedures. , 1952, Radiology.

[2]  W. E. Nolan.  Radiation hazards to the patient from oral roentgenography. , 1953, Journal of the American Dental Association.

[3]  J. Piro,et al.  Radiation exposure to the head and abdomen during oral roentgenography. , 1956, Journal of the American Dental Association.

[4]  Robert W. Miller.  RADIATION-INDUCED HEAD AND NECK TUMORS , 1974, Pediatrics.

[5]  N. Breslow,et al.  Statistical methods in cancer research. Vol. 1. The analysis of case-control studies. , 1981 .

[6]  B. Henderson,et al.  Risk factors for meningiomas in men in Los Angeles County. , 1983, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[7]  C. G. Wright,et al.  Surface morphology of the inner sulcus and related epithelial cells of the cochlea following acoustic trauma , 1984, Hearing Research.

[8]  Roger P. Hamernik,et al.  Anatomical correlates of impulse noise-induced mechanical damage in the cochlea , 1984, Hearing Research.

[9]  L. Bernstein,et al.  A dental x-ray validation study. Comparison of information from patient interviews and dental charts. , 1985, American journal of epidemiology.

[10]  Absorbed doses from intraoral radiography with special emphasis on collimator dimensions. , 1986, Swedish dental journal.

[11]  R. Shore,et al.  Follow-up Studies of Patients Treated by X-Ray Epilation for Tinea Capitis , 1986 .

[12]  P. S. St George-Hyslop,et al.  Common pathogenetic mechanism for three tumor types in bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis. , 1987, Science.

[13]  S. Preston‐Martin,et al.  Prior exposure to medical and dental x-rays related to tumors of the parotid gland. , 1988, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[14]  B. Ryals,et al.  Hair cell regeneration after acoustic trauma in adult Coturnix quail. , 1988, Science.

[15]  D. Cotanche,et al.  Regeneration of sensory hair cells after acoustic trauma. , 1988, Science.

[16]  D. Albanes,et al.  Are cell number and cell proliferation risk factors for cancer? , 1988, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.