Triazine herbicides and epithelial ovarian cancer risk in central California

Objective: We sought to determine whether women with ovarian cancer have increased occupational exposure to triazine herbicides. Methods: A population-based case-control study of incident cases (n = 256) and random digit-dialed control subjects (n = 1122) was conducted. Participants were administered telephone interviews to obtain agricultural work history. These histories were used with the statewide pesticide usage database to calculate cumulative exposure estimates. The data were analyzed by stratified analysis and unconditional logistic regression techniques. Results: The analysis of ever versus never occupational exposure to triazines demonstrated that cases were slightly but not significantly more likely to be exposed than control subjects (adjusted odds = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = 0.77-2.33). There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship between triazines and ovarian cancer (P = 0.22). Conclusions: Considered with previous studies and animal laboratory data, the current evidence is not persuasive as to the presence or absence of an association between ovarian cancer and triazine exposure.