Incidence of malignant lymphoma in adolescents and young adults in the 58 counties of California with varying synthetic turf field density

Publication date: April 2018
Source:Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 53
Author(s): Archie Bleyer, Theresa Keegan
BackgroundCase reports of cancer among soccer players raised concerns that the crumb rubber infill in synthetic turf fields may cause malignant lymphoma. One prior epidemiologic study on the topic found no association.MethodsAn ecologic evaluation of county-level incidence of lymphomas by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status for the state of California with data obtained from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Synthetic turf field density by county was obtained from the Synthetic Turf Council. During 2000–2013, 7214 14- to 30-year-old Californians were diagnosed with malignant lymphoma.ResultsAnnual lymphoma county incidence trends were not associated with the county-level synthetic turf field density. None of 20 sub-analyses by race/ethnicity, sex and county median household income indicated a correlation of lymphoma incidence with synthetic turf field density. In California, there was no evidence at the county-level that synthetic turf fields are associated with an increased incidence of lymphoma in adolescents and young adults.ConclusionOur findings in the state with the greatest number of such fields and a large, diverse patient population are consistent with those of a prior study observing no association between individual-level exposures to turf fields and cancer incidence. Avoidance of synthetic turf fields for fear of increased cancer risk is not warranted.



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