Silica exposure and pulmonary cancer.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Goldsmith DF
• Description:
  The relationship between silica (14808607) exposure and lung cancer was discussed, based on experimental evidence in laboratory animals and epidemiological data from occupational studies. Cancer risk assessments for silica and regulations on work and ambient exposures were considered. The evidence for silica exposure as a cause of lung cancer was evaluated using standard criteria. Data from rat studies indicated that silica exposure caused respiratory tumors without prior initiation by a known agent. Worker studies on the link between silica exposure and pulmonary cancer were grouped into five categories: general silica exposure, mining and quarrying, granite industry, ceramics and glass industry, and foundry industry. Case reports, descriptive studies, and epidemiological data were presented for all the categories of human exposure to silica except general exposure. In all cases, the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) among workers in the exposed groups were significantly higher when compared to the control SMRs. Autopsy and epidemiological study results from studies of workers' risk after diagnosis with silicosis were presented. The lack of positive association in some of the autopsy studies were attributed to biases such as age, smoking, and other pulmonary conditions. Several sources of bias which affected two of the 24 reviewed epidemiological studies were attributed to detection bias, exposure to other agents, and smoking. Cancer risk assessments were based on experimental animal data; possible methods to decrease the uncertainty level associated with such extrapolations included the use of human data. The determination of the relationship between silica exposure and lung cancer required the comparison between exposure and silicosis on the following criteria: strong relative risk, consistent results, dose response gradients, controlled confounding, reliable exposure data, biological specificity, and temporal cogency. The author concludes that chronic silicosis predisposes to a higher risk of lung cancer, and that such a risk results from high silica exposure and/or to the fibrotic process. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Laboratories Lung Lung Diseases Mining Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Grant; Pulmonary-system-disorders; Cancer-rates; Lung-cancer; Mortality-data; Epidemiology; Silica-dusts; Occupational-exposure; Mine-workers; Laboratory-animals; Dose-response
• ISBN:
  0824788532
• Publisher:
  Lung Biology in Health and Disease, Volume 74, Marcel Dekker, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  California ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  245-298
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00225422
• Citation:
  Epidemiology of Lung Cancer 1994:245-298
• Contact Point Address:
  Internal Medicine University of California Internal Medicine Davis, CA 95616
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Editor(s):
  Samet JM
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Davis, Davis, California
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19890601
• Source Full Name:
  Epidemiology of Lung Cancer
• End Date:
  19931130
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/243363/cdc_243363_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]