Proportion of lung cancers in males, due to occupation, in different areas of the USA.
Occupational data from 5 case-control studies in the United States involving 2,973 male cases and 3,210 controls were analyzed to estimate the percentage of lung cancer attributable to well-known and suspected lung carcinogens. The studies were conducted in areas heterogeneous in terms of industrial activities. The percentage of lung cancers attributable to occupations entailing potential exposure to well-recognized carcinogens ranged, by study area, from 3 to 17%. The further inclusion of occupational groups with suspect carcinogenic exposures changed these estimates very little. Exclusion of data derived from next-of-kin interviews influenced the estimates of attributable risks, but not in a systematic fashion. The estimates also varied according to ethnic group, smoking status and birth cohort, with higher values in non-whites, non-smokers and among members of more recent birth cohorts. Possible errors in exposure classification, which may make these estimates conservative, are discussed.
Vineis
P
P
Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Oncologia Umana, Università, Torino, Italy.
Thomas
T
T
Hayes
R B
RB
Blot
W J
WJ
Mason
T J
TJ
Pickle
L W
LW
Correa
P
P
Fontham
E T
ET
Schoenberg
J
J
D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014481:United States