Occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and risk of follicular lymphoma: Family case-control study

INTRODUCTION: Concerns persist regarding possible associations of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) and cancer risk. Few studies have examined the association between occupational exposure to RF-EMF and the risk of follicular lymphoma (FL). Existing research has typically assessed FL in combination with other lymphomas and has suboptimal exposure assessment. We investigated the possible association between occupational RF-EMF exposure and FL in a family-based case-control study using improved exposure metrics. METHODS: The study population consisted of 727 FL cases and 484 family controls. Exposure to RF-EMF was estimated using self-reported lifetime occupational histories and exposure intensity rating from the INTEROCC job-exposure matrix (JEM) (separately for electric and magnetic fields) and the CANJEM. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated from logistic regression models. RESULTS: We observed no consistent associations between RF-EMF exposure and FL. For the highest compared to the lowest quartile of lifetime exposure, results using the INTEROCC JEM showed an OR of 0.98 (95%CI: 0.68-1.40) for electric fields and OR of 1.02 (95%CI: 0.72-1.46) for magnetic fields. RF-EMF exposure defined using the CANJEM showed an OR of 0.94 (95%CI: 0.68-1.31). There were also no consistent associations when applying latency periods or time windows. CONCLUSION: Our findings do not support any consistent association between occupational RF-EMF exposure and risk of developing FL.