Lung Cancer in Minders Exposed to Silica and Ionising Radiation – a Feasibility Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cox-Ganser, Jean M. ; Ducatman B ; Jacobsen, Michael
• Description:
  Does inhaled silica, or the presence of silicosis, interact with ionising radiation and other occupational carcinogens to potentiate lung cancer risks in man? Two pathologic pathways consistent with the idea would result in associations between exposures to silica and only specific types of lung cancer. This might explain some inconsistencies in results from epidemiologic studies that do not distinguish between between lung cancer cell types. We have explored systematically whether we could test the hypothesis rigorously using preserved histology slides from autopsies of thousands of former east German uranium miners, detailed records of their occupational histories, and information about environmental conditions underground. Several thousand histology slides from a stratified random sample of 302 miners were examined independently by four pathologists. All pathologists were able to distinguish between the different lung cancer cell types and the different forms of silicosis of interest. Estimates of joint distributions of exposures to silica, radiation, asbestos and arsenic suggest that the potentially available data can be used to study the hypothesised interaction. An additional sample of at least 600 individuals from the archive would be required to test the research hypothesis with adequate statistical power. Further research along these lines is both feasible and desirable. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Mining Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Exposure-assessment Exposure-limits Ionizing-radiation Lung-cancer Lung-disease Lung-disorders Lung-fibrosis Lung-irritants Miners Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Silica-dusts Silicates Silicosis

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• Publisher:
  International Commission on Occupational Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings ; Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027174
• Citation:
  EPICOH 14th International Conference on Epidemiology in Occupational Health, Herzliya, Israel, October 10-14, 1999. Rome, Italy: International Commission on Occupational Health, 1999 Oct; :107
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  EPICOH 14th International Conference on Epidemiology in Occupational Health, Herzliya, Israel, October 10-14, 1999
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38e8fc6eecd71fd257be9524b087b42c81dc69d1bbd824c003a490f4b298bb4ae24c62339eea017f039449548ea05558a5d7fe640f1dad58b1bf83bc046cc38b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197495/cdc_197495_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 255.68 KB ]