ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2012
Myelodysplastic syndrome and benzene exposure among petroleum workers: an international pooled analysis.
Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.
- Benzene exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2021Pooled it
- The importance of evaluating specific myeloid malignancies in epidemiological studies of environmental carcinogens.BMC cancer · 2021Pooled it
- Guideline
- Linking Air Pollution and Hematologic Malignancies: From Epidemiology to Molecular Mechanisms.Current hematologic malignancy reports · 2026Review
- A 2026 update on myelodysplastic neoplasms: current state, challenges and future directions.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Real-Time Assessment of Black Carbon Peaks Among Workers Exposed to Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions.Safety and health at work · 2026Article
- Navigating the New Era in Myelodysplastic Neoplasms: A Review of Prognostic Implications of the IPSS-M Score and 2022 WHO Classification.Hematology reports · 2025Review
- An Unusual Case of Nonneutropenic Fever Associated With Myelodysplasia and Sweet's Syndrome.Cureus · 2025Article
- Benzene Metabolism Is Dominated by a High-Affinity Pathway at Ambient Exposures with Implications for Cancer Risks.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Role of Population Based Studies in Advancing our Knowledge of Myelodysplastic Syndromes.Current hematologic malignancy reports · 2025Review
- Treatment Patterns and Outcomes of Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) by IPSS-R Scores at Academic Cancer Centers.Advances in hematology · 2025Article
- Sequential Use of Romiplostim after Eltrombopag for Refractory Thrombocytopenia in Hydrocarbon-Induced Myelodysplasia.The International journal of angiology : official publication of the International College of Angiology, Inc · 2024Article
- Mediating effect of oxidative stress on blood pressure elevation in workers exposed to low concentrations of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX).Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Cancer Incidence among Marines and Navy Personnel and Civilian Workers Exposed to Industrial Solvents in Drinking Water at US Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune: A Cohort Study.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Evaluation of mortality among Marines, Navy personnel, and civilian workers exposed to contaminated drinking water at USMC base Camp Lejeune: a cohort study.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2024Article
- Occupational exposure to benzene and mortality risk of lymphohaematopoietic cancers in the Swiss National Cohort.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Article
- How Government Health Agencies Obscure the Impact of Environmental Pollution and Perpetuate Reductionist Framings of Disease: The Case of Leukemia.International journal of social determinants of health and health services · 2024Article
- Leukemia risk assessment of exposure to low-levels of benzene based on the linearized multistage model.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Myelodysplastic syndromes.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2022Review
- Using Urinary Biomarkers to Estimate the Benzene Exposure Levels in Individuals Exposed to Benzene.Toxics · 2022Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBenzene at high concentrations is known to cause acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but its relationship with other lymphohematopoietic (LH) cancers remains uncertain, particularly at low concentrations. In this pooled analysis, we examined the risk of five LH cancers relative to lower levels of benzene exposure in petroleum workers.
methodsWe updated three nested case-control studies from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom with new incident LH cancers among petroleum distribution workers through December 31, 2006, and pooled 370 potential case subjects and 1587 matched LH cancer-free control subjects. Quantitative benzene exposure in parts per million (ppm) was blindly reconstructed using historical monitoring data, and exposure certainty was scored as high, medium, or low. Two hematopathologists assigned diagnoses and scored the certainty of diagnosis as high, medium, or low. Dose-response relationships were examined for five LH cancers, including the three most common leukemia cell-types (AML, chronic myeloid leukemia [CML], and chronic lymphoid leukemia [CLL]) and two myeloid tumors (myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS] and myeloproliferative disease [MPD]). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression, controlling for age, sex, and time period.
resultsCumulative benzene exposure showed a monotonic dose-response relationship with MDS (highest vs lowest tertile, >2.93 vs ≤0.348 ppm-years, OR = 4.33, 95% CI = 1.31 to 14.3). For peak benezene exposures (>3 ppm), the risk of MDS was increased in high and medium certainty diagnoses (peak exposure vs no peak exposure, OR = 6.32, 95% CI = 1.32 to 30.2) and in workers having the highest exposure certainty (peak exposure vs no peak exposure, OR = 5.74, 95% CI = 1.05 to 31.2). There was little evidence of dose-response relationships for AML, CLL, CML, or MPD.
conclusionsRelatively low-level exposure to benzene experienced by petroleum distribution workers was associated with an increased risk of MDS, but not AML, suggesting that MDS may be the more relevant health risk for lower exposures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.