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L,Y L RCI.CllI LCVCIUt11nCI1lJ <br />• <br /> <br />Cancer among Farmers: AMeta-Analysis <br />A meta-analysis of 37 studies (Acquavella, J. et al, Annals of Epidemiology, 1998;864-74) was <br />conducted to assess whether farmers had elevated rates for several cancers, as was previously <br />concluded in a previous (Blair, 1992) meta-analysis of 21 studies. The new study concluded, "The <br />results do not suggest that farmers have elevated rates of several cancers. However, the known <br />heterogeneity of exposures by type of farming, geographic azea, time periods, and other factors limits <br />the informativeness ofineta-analysis of these studies for assessing potential carcinogenic exposure in <br />agriculture." <br />Farmers have a lower incidence of cancer than does the general population. This is usually attnbuted <br />to the farmers' healthier life style. <br />The report "Single-Dose and Chronic Dietary Neurotoxicity Screening Studies on 2,4- <br />Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D) in Rats," Mattsson, J.L. et al., has recently been published in <br />Fundamental and Applied Toxicology (40:111-119, 1997). Dosages were up to 250 mg per kg of <br />body weight by galvage for the single-dose study, and up to 150 mg/kg/day in the diet for 52 weeks in <br />the repeated-dose study. This review concludes, "Based on the resuhs from these two studies, the no- <br />observed-adverse-effect level for acute neurotoxicity was 15 mg/kg/day and for chronic neurotoxicity <br />was 75 mg/kg/day." These dose levels are thousands of times higher than the levels at which humans <br />may be exposed in the enironment. For example, exposure to home and gazden users has been <br />measured at 0.00014 mg/kg/day, and at 0.00275 mg/kg/day among professional lawncaze applicators <br />(see Munro et al, 1992, in the 2~ Publication Review Site). <br />The University of Miami School of Medicine has recently reported on the results of their 20-yeaz <br />cohort study involving 33,669 Florida pesticide applicators, which concluded, "There were no <br />confirmed cases of soft tissue sarcoma, and non Hodgkins lymphoma was not increased: these findings <br />aze at odds with prior literature associating phenoxy herbicides with an increased risk of both these <br />cancers." See the "Epidemiology" section listed under "Contents" on the Home Pase. <br />The World Health Organization has just published the results of their most recent review of the <br />toxicology and epidemiology of 2,4-D. Copies of their 2,4-D Toxicology Monograph can be obtained <br />from the World Health Organization, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, or through this Task Force. <br />This report is avaliable on the 2.4-D Publication Review Site <br />On January 29, 1997, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Effects Division, <br />Carcinogenicity Peer Review Committee (CPRC), issued it's fourth weight-of--the-evidence review of <br />2,4-D. The CPRC concluded that 2,4-D should remain a Group D compound. Under the EPA <br />http://www.24d.org/RD.html 11/15/98 <br />