Evolving Cancer Characteristics Among World Trade Center Survivors: An Updated Analysis from the WTC Environmental Health Center

Details

• Journal Article:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Personal Author:
  Durmus, Nedim ; Wang, Ziyue ; Arslan, Alan A. ; Goren, Emre ; Alptekin, Ramazan ; Lou, Yujia ; Shao, Andrew ; Athar, Nida ; Ashebir, Yibeltal A. ; Shi, Yidan ; Wilson, Leigh ; Reibman, Joan ; Shao, Yongzhao
• Description:
  Local community populations ("survivors") exposed to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster experienced complex exposures to mixtures of dust and combustion products with potential carcinogenic effects. Survivors with certifiable WTC-related conditions are eligible for inclusion in the federally funded WTC Health Program. We provide an updated description of cancers in the WTC Environmental Health Center (EHC), a program for WTC survivors, through 31 December 2024. Using data from the WTC EHC Pan Cancer Database, we summarized demographics, exposure history, and tumor characteristics among enrollees with pathologically confirmed primary cancers meeting WTC Health Program certification criteria. Among 17,449 members, 7274 had a certifiable cancer diagnosis; excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, 6588 patients with 7643 eligible cancers were analyzed. Women comprised 50.3% of the cohort and 47.5% of diagnoses. Solid tumors accounted for 87% of certifications, with breast (22%) and prostate (19%) cancers most frequent, followed by lung (8%), thyroid (6%), colorectal (6%), and melanoma (4.5%). Lymphoproliferative and hematopoietic malignancies represented 13% of cases. Fourteen percent developed multiple primary cancers, and median latency clustered around 14-16 years. Compared with our previous report in 2020, the enrolled number of cancers increased 2.5-fold. These findings support the need for sustained surveillance and additional epidemiologic studies to improve cancer prevention and survivorship in this uniquely exposed population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Dust Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: World Trade Center; Environmental Exposure; WTC Survivors; Cancer; Cancer Characteristics World Trade Center; WTC; Health Programs; Cancer Rates; Environmental Exposure; Surveillance; Epidemiology; Dust Exposure; Community Health;
• Source:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2026 May; 23(5):625
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; New York City Region [OSHA] ; New York City, NY
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  18 pdf pages
• Volume:
  23
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071667
• Contact Point Address:
  Nedim Durmus, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
• Email:
  nedim.durmus@nyulangone.org
• Editor(s):
  Yu, Xinhua
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  New York University School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20240701
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:025f616ffc3b82b3d46e6298260c82105f7c183e830b9b5707b29d8bca62dcf4e588e5b0fdb63e22ec05b3fdff6de8e87510b4b629492f11ddb5f8b1694ce9ac
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259440/cdc_259440_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 810.12 KB ]