Increased Risk of Penile Cancer among Men Working in Agriculture

Abstract

<br /> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">Background: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Previous Brazilian studies have indicated that working in agriculture could lead to an increased risk of penile cancer. The present descriptive study aimed at establishing a possible association between penile cancer and agricultural occupation. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Materials and methods: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Data on a total of 103 penile cancer patients were obtained from medical records of two reference centres for cancer treatment in the state of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Information about sexual behaviour was obtained in interviews for 48 cases. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Results: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Of 103 patients 38 and 52 were illiterate and had not completed graduation, respectively, and 60 earned less than twice the minimum wage. All together, 72 </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">(70%) worked in agriculture and 39 confirmed involvement in application of agrochemicals. A history of phimosis </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">was noted for 42 (69%) out of 61 patients and 40 (59%) out of 68 ever smoked. Pathological signs of HPV infection </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">were detected in 45 (70%) out of 64 patients. Of the 48 interviewed patients, 27 (56%) confirmed sexual contact with </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">prostitutes and eight (19%) out of 43 had sex with animals. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Conclusions: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Data confirmed the presence of several risk </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">factors for penile cancer, like phimosis, smoking, HPV infection and promiscuous sexual behaviour. The high number of Brazilian agricultural workers with penile cancer was unexpected if compared with other professional groups. Future studies should focus on this group of men and elucidate possible reasons for their increased risk. </span></span>