Which Cancers are Associated with Exposure to Vinyl Chloride?

Vinyl chloride is a gas that’s used in making vinyl products. It can be found in the air that people breathe, ingested in water and food, or inhaled by workers who use it. This chemical has been linked to endometrial cancer and kidney cancer in people with kidney disease, but it has also been suspected to cause other types of cancers too.

According to the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit, Vinyl chloride was also a primary chemical in Camp Lejeune water contamination.  Vinyl chloride was used as a fire retardant in barrels of water stored for use in firefighting efforts. Since it is a gas at room temperature and pressure, vinyl chloride can easily enter the air from water and other liquids. 

People drink water and eat food all the time, which means they are constantly exposed to vinyl chloride.  The many ways people are exposed to this gas make it hard to know how much they have been exposed to or how long they have been exposed.

Let us now see into different types of cancers that are associated with exposure to Vinyl chloride.

• Hepatic angiosarcoma, a rare type of liver cancer

Hepatic angiosarcoma is a very rare carcinoma of the liver that kills about 3,400 Americans each year according to the US National Cancer Institute (NCI). It is a type of cancer that arises from an abnormal blood vessel in the liver. This tumor usually begins in the bile ducts and spreads to other parts of the liver.

• Brain cancer

Brain cancer is a generic term for any type of cancer that starts in the brain. These tumors can be benign or malignant. There are more than 20 types of brain cancers that affect millions of people each year, including children as young as four years old. Most are slow growing and non-aggressive. 

• Lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men and women. This type of cancer can be found in the lung, but can also spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms may include a cough that doesn’t go away or chest pain. 

• Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a general term for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, two types of cancer that can affect the lymph nodes, which are groups of small glands located all over the body. 

• Leukemia

Leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children. It is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that leaves immature, improperly formed white blood cells in the blood. Leukemia can spread from its origins to distant parts of the body, and can even infiltrate organs and tissues, such as the spleen, liver, lungs, brain, and liver.