Authors: Checkoway, Harvey, Linda D. Dell, Paolo Boffetta, Alexa E. Gallagher, Lori Crawford, Peter SJ Lees, and Kenneth A. Mundt.
Authors obtained the data from the NCI cohort study via a Technology Transfer Agreement to replicate the findings reported by Beane Freemen et al. (2009) and to conduct additional analysis of associations of specific leukemias and lymphomas, especially acute myeloid leukemia, with formaldehyde exposure. Analyses were conducted including peak exposure as defined by Beane Freeman et al. (2009), as well as using an alternative more standard definition of peak exposure. The findings from this re-analysis fail to support the hypothesis that formaldehyde causes acute myeloid leukemia. Specifically, the results indicated: Acute myeloid leukemia was unrelated to “peak” or any other formaldehyde metric including the conventional cumulative exposure (also as reported in Beane Freeman (2009)). In fact, very few cohort members had any peak exposure within 20 years of death due to AML. There were suggestive associations with peak exposure only for chronic myeloid leukemia, albeit based on very small numbers. No other lymphohematopoietic malignancy was associated with either cumulative or peak exposure.