Lung Cancer Incidence After September 11, 2001, Among World Trade Center Responders

Is there an association between occupational exposures while working at the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster sites and the incidence of lung cancer over a decade later?In this cohort study including 12 334 WTC responders aged 49.3 years at study inclusion, 118 developed incident lung cancer more than a decade after exposure. Compared with minimally exposed responders who reported low dust exposure, responders working on the WTC sites who reported more severe exposures had a nearly 3-fold higher incidence of lung cancer even after adjusting for demographic factors and smoking.This study suggests that, when compared with the lowest reported exposure levels, a higher level of reported exposure to more particulate dust or debris was significantly associated with an increased incidence of lung cancer.

Corresponding Author: Sean A. P. Clouston, PhD, Program in Public Health, 3-071 Health Sciences Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (sean.clouston@stonybrookmedicine.edu).

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