Effect of occupational risk factors in cancer incidence in Iran: a Systematic Review

Cancer is the main cause of death in developed countries and the second main cause of death in developing countries. The aim of this study was to review the occupational risk factors and cancer incident in Iran.

this present systematic review was done based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines on Persian articles with no time limits in publication and collected from January 2019 to April 2019 from Sid, Magiran and Google Scholar Databases. Some search terms including “job” or “occupation” “occupational exposure” or “cancer” or “neoplasm were used.

A total number of 103 articles were detected. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, finally 18 studies remained in this systematic review with 13897 sample size and 7187 diagnosed patients. Most included studies researched on non-melanoma skin as the most studied cancer and sunlight exposure as the most carcinogenic reported occupational risk factor. Among included researches, only four studies were directly related to occupational cancer with 1837 sample size and 604 diagnosed various cancers in workers that focused on kidney, bladder and mesothelioma cancers (Pleural mesothelioma and Perivascular mesothelioma) .The results showed that, the cancer was reported in some occupations more than others.

Most included researches reported skin cancer and exposure to sunlight as the most studied cancer and occupational risk factor respectively. As regard to importance of effective risk factors on cancer incidence , identification and control of occupational risk factor in the work environment should be a main key element of national cancer control program in countries specially developing countries. So it is recommended to develop the researches in field of occupational cancer in Iran.