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  • Lung and extrathoracic cancer incidence among underground uranium miners exposed to radon progeny in the Příbram region of the Czech Republic: a case–cohort study

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Lung and extrathoracic cancer incidence among underground uranium miners exposed to radon progeny in the Příbram region of the Czech Republic: a case–cohort study
  1. Kaitlin Kelly-Reif1,
  2. Dale P Sandler2,
  3. David Shore2,3,
  4. Mary Schubauer-Berigan4,
  5. Melissa Troester1,
  6. Leena Nylander-French5,
  7. David B Richardson1
  1. 1Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  2. 2Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  3. 3Westat Inc, Rockville, Maryland, USA
  4. 4Evidence Synthesis and Classification Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
  5. 5Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Dale P Sandler, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA; sandler{at}niehs.nih.gov

Abstract

Objectives Radon is carcinogenic, but more studies are needed to understand relationships with lung cancer and extrathoracic cancers at low exposures. There are few studies evaluating associations with cancer incidence or assessing the modifying effects of smoking.

Methods We conducted a case–cohort study with 16 434 underground uranium miners in the Czech Republic with cancer incidence follow-up 1977–1996. Associations between radon exposure and lung cancer, and extrathoracic cancer, were estimated with linear excess relative rate (ERR) models. We examined potential modifying effects of smoking, time since exposure and exposure rate.

Results Under a simple ERR model, assuming a 5-year exposure lag, the estimated ERR of lung cancer per 100 working level months (WLM) was 0.54 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.83) and the estimated ERR of extrathoracic cancer per 100 WLM was 0.07 (95% CI −0.17 to 0.72). Most lung cancer cases were observed among smokers (82%), and the estimated ERR of lung cancer per 100 WLM was larger among smokers (ERR/100 WLM=1.35; 95% CI 0.84 to 2.15) than among never smokers (ERR/100 WLM=0.12; 95% CI −0.05 to 0.49). Among smokers, the estimated ERR of lung cancer per 100 WLM decreased with time since exposure from 3.07 (95% CI −0.04 to 10.32) in the period 5–14 years after exposure to 1.05 (95% CI 0.49 to 1.87) in the period 25+ years after exposure.

Conclusions We observed positive associations between cumulative radon exposure and lung cancer, consistent with prior studies. We observed a positive association between cumulative radon exposure and extrathoracic cancers, although the estimates were small. There was evidence that the association between radon and lung cancer was modified by smoking in a multiplicative or super-multiplicative fashion.

  • cancer
  • radon
  • miners
  • radiation
  • ionizing

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107392

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors DPS and DS made substantial contributions to the conception of this work. KK-R, DBR, DPS and DS led the initial design of this analysis. KK-R led the data analysis and manuscript writing. All authors reviewed and made substantial contributions to the analysis plan and manuscript drafts. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.

    • Funding This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (T42-OH008673). This work was funded in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01-ES049028).

    • Disclaimer Where authors are identified as personnel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/WHO, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/WHO.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.