Angiosarcoma Clusters are hard to prove
In individual cases where you can show Exposure to Vinyl Chloride then connecting that exposure with hepatic Angiosarcoma is a little easier. In cancer cluster cases it becomes much more difficult because there are so many variables out in the world. Where did the VC come from? How much actually made it into contact with the victim.
In an industrial exposure case, can at least show where the exposure was and often can quite specifically show how intense the exposure was.
Genuine cancer clusters account for only a small number of suspected clusters, said Tim Aldrich, an epidemiologist who has studied disease clusters across the nation for three decades.And even in those cases, the actual cause of a cluster often is never discovered.
One of the best-known cases of a bona fide cancer cluster, Aldrich said, occurred in the mid-1990s at Toms River, N.J., where there appeared to be pediatric cancer clustering. Toms River is adjacent to two "Superfund" sites, designated as high priorities for cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency because of the presence of hazardous waste.
A study over several years concluded that no single risk factor was responsible for the elevated level of childhood cancer in that region.
Environmental toxins generally cause a specific, rare cancer, experts say. Vinyl chloride monomer, for example, has been found to elevate the risk of hepatic angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer.
