Toxicant and Disease Database

The CHE Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. Diseases and or toxicants can be viewed by utilizing the search options below. See a full description of the database and our methodology.

See also our compilation of other Databases and Resources

For questions or comments about the database, please contact us through our Contact form.

Select one of the following

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Select a Disease

Select a Toxicant

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Multiple myeloma

Causes Grouped by strength of evidence

Strong Evidence ionizing radiation	Good Evidence arsenical pesticides dioxins / TCDD pesticides phenoxyacetic herbicides	Limited Evidence 1,1,1-trichloroethane Agent Orange asbestos benzene DDT/DDE fungicides heavy metals petrochemicals solvents trichloroethylene (TCE)

Notes

Organic solvent exposure in painters has been associated with multiple myeloma. In addition to the pesticides listed, unspecified pesticide exposure in applicators, manufacturers, and agricultural workers has been associated with multiple myeloma. In these situations, the individual is exposed to mixtures of pesticides or different pesticides at different times. Associations between a specific pesticide exposure and disease can not be made.

NOTE: The toxicant–disease relationships shown above were last updated in 2011. The relationships shown here are still valid, but additional research has been conducted since that time. Additional research on this disease can be found at this link:

COMPARATIVE TOXICOGENOMICS DATABASE: CURATED RESULTS

This link will direct your search to an external database, the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). This database is different from, and complementary to, our database.

More information about sources and methods

CHE’s Toxicant and Disease Database evaluates existing evidence and categorizes that evidence based on its strength. It is constructed using expert judgment and epidemiological causal inference.
The CTD, in contrast, is a continually updated resource that presents information on a broad range of literature on chemical-disease relationships. It also provides data on genes, biological processes, and phenotypes related to chemicals and diseases. It does not categorize information based on strength of evidence, include an expert judgment process, or draw causal conclusions about toxicant-disease relationships.
The link we have provided on this page goes directly to CTD's curated results, which are a subset of the information available through CTD. Curated results in CTD are those for which studies are available on the toxicant-disease relationship.

Dig Deeper

Human environmental disease network: a computational model to assess toxicology of contaminants

About This Database

See a description of database methods, definitions and limitations.

Information in this database was originally drawn from these texts:

Klaassen CD, Ed. Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
LaDou J. Ed. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 3rd Edition. New York: Lange Medical/McGraw-Hill Company, 2004.
Rom WM. Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, 1998.

Further references are or will be posted with the displays of individual toxicants.