8291895 Evaluation of the association between the occurrence of soft tissue, viscera and bone sarcomas and occupation according to gender: results of the French population-based case-control study ETIOSARC

<h3>Objective</h3> Sarcomas are rare tumours of connective tissues whose aetiology is very poorly understood. Some studies suggested associations between sarcomas and some occupations, mainly in the agricultural population and among woodworkers, suspecting a role of pesticides in the occurrence of sarcomas. The main objective of this study is to estimate the associations between occupations and soft tissue sarcomas (STS), viscera sarcomas (VS) and bone sarcomas (BS) separately. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> ETIOSARC is a French multicentric general population case-control study conducted between 2019 and 2024. Cases and controls were interviewed with a self-administered questionnaire and a face-to-face interview. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals adjusted for education level were estimated using a conditional logistic regression for each occupation held for at least five years separately in men and women. <h3>Results</h3> The number of cases included is 474 STS, 158 VS and 67 BS. Men are more represented in STS (56.1%) and women in VS (62.0%) whereas they are equally represented in BS. The mean age at diagnosis range from 57,4 for men with BS to 60,5 for men with VS and women with BS. Among men, heavy truck and lorry drivers and draughtspersons are significantly associated with STS (OR=3.60; 95% CI=1.23-10.52 and OR=2.53; 95% CI=1.03-6.20 respectively) and medical doctors with VS (OR=12.09; 95% CI=1.28-113.92). Among women, the risk of STS is significant for cleaners and helpers (OR=2.64; 95% CI=1.02-6.85). No significant association was found for BS in either men or women. A non-significant association was found between farmers and STS in men (OR=1.42; 95% CI=0.73-2.78). <h3>Conclusion</h3> This is the first study investigating the association between occupations and the site of the sarcoma by gender. This analysis identified new occupations associated with the occurrence of sarcomas, and a positive but non-significant strength of association among farmers who require further investigations.