Occupational cancer in Britain. Respiratory cancer sites: larynx, lung and mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Occupational cancer in Britain. Respiratory cancer sites: larynx, lung and mesothelioma, by T. Brown, A. Darnton, L. Fortunato, et al (British Journal of Cancer, 2012).

The study

• Authors: T. Brown, A. Darnton, L. Fortunato, L. Rushton, British Occupational Cancer Burden Study Group
• Journal: British Journal of Cancer
• Published: 2012;107 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S56-70
• Cited by: 49 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This British Occupational Cancer Burden Study article estimated how many laryngeal cancers, lung cancers and mesotheliomas in Great Britain were attributable to occupation. Using published risk estimates and numbers of people ever exposed, the authors covered 21 agents or circumstances for lung cancer, three for laryngeal cancer and asbestos for mesothelioma. They counted cancers in people aged 25 and over, using 2005 deaths and 2004 registrations. For mesothelioma, they counted all asbestos-related cases, including para-occupational and environmental exposure. With all exposures combined, the estimated attributable fraction for laryngeal cancer was 2.61% (95% CI 0.83 to 4.32), or 20 deaths (95% CI 5 to 101). For lung cancer it was 14.47% (95% CI 12.96 to 17.20), or 4745 deaths (95% CI 4251 to 5643). For mesothelioma it was 95.1% (95% CI 93.0 to 96.9), or 1937 deaths (95% CI 1898 to 1976). An estimated 350,302 men and 82,336 women had been exposed to asbestos. Asbestos contributed by far the most attributed lung cancer registrations and all attributed mesothelioma registrations. Most of these were in construction workers, but the asbestos studies came from other industries. The authors assumed one asbestos-related lung cancer death per mesothelioma death. Most of the laryngeal burden was attributed to strong inorganic acid mists.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Burden estimation study: attributable fractions calculated from published risk estimates (and, for asbestos and laryngeal cancer, a meta-analysis by the study group) combined with estimated numbers of workers ever exposed
• Who was studied: Great Britain: cancers of the larynx and lung, and mesothelioma, in people aged 25 and over, with deaths in 2005 and cancer registrations in 2004; an assumed latency of 10 to 50 years
• Exposure: IARC Group 1 and 2A occupational agents or circumstances: 21 for lung cancer; asbestos, the rubber industry and strong inorganic acid mists for laryngeal cancer; asbestos for mesothelioma. Asbestos fiber types were not estimated separately. High asbestos exposure was assigned to all manufacturing industry sectors, electricity and gas utilities and land transport.
• Main results:
  • Laryngeal cancer, all exposures combined: attributable fraction 2.61% (95% CI 0.83 to 4.32), equal to 20 deaths (95% CI 5 to 101) and 56 registrations (95% CI 8 to 101)
  • Lung cancer, men and women, all exposures combined: attributable fraction 14.47% (95% CI 12.96 to 17.20), equal to 4745 deaths (95% CI 4251 to 5643) and 5442 registrations (95% CI 4877 to 6469). The discussion gives about 15% overall, 21.1% for men and 5.3% for women.
  • Mesothelioma, men and women: attributable fraction 95.1% (95% CI 93.0 to 96.9), equal to 1937 deaths (95% CI 1898 to 1976) and 1937 registrations (95% CI 1898 to 1976). This figure includes asbestos-related cases from para-occupational and environmental exposure and cases with no identified source.
  • The authors included the total proportion of mesothelioma due to asbestos, not only workplace exposure
  • Asbestos contributed the largest number of attributed lung cancer registrations, and all of the mesothelioma registrations attributed in this estimate
  • An estimated 350,302 men and 82,336 women had been exposed to asbestos during the risk exposure period
  • Most asbestos-attributed cases occurred in construction workers, but the asbestos studies used came from other industries
  • For mesothelioma, the share due to asbestos was taken as 96% to 98% for men and 75 to 90% for women
  • Asbestos-related lung cancer deaths were estimated by assuming a 1 to 1 ratio with mesothelioma deaths
  • For asbestos and laryngeal cancer, the study group carried out its own meta-analysis of nine case-control studies that adjusted for tobacco and alcohol
  • Most of the laryngeal cancer burden was attributed to strong inorganic acid mists
• The authors' conclusion: The authors estimated that about 15% of lung cancer in Britain was attributable to occupation (21.1% in men, 5.3% in women), and compared their figures with estimates from other countries
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The asbestos risk estimates came from studies in industries other than construction, where most of the attributed cases occurred
  • The ratio of asbestos-related lung cancer to mesothelioma deaths is likely to vary with exposure circumstances
  • The distinction between para-occupational and environmental asbestos exposure was described as blurred, so all asbestos-related mesothelioma was included
  • Welders could not be identified and excluded from the industry categories used for the exposure estimates for nickel, chromium, lead, PAHs and asbestos

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Throat and laryngeal cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Alcohol, smoking, and occupational factors in cancer of the larynx: a case-control study — W. Ahrens, K.H. Jöckel, et al. (1991)
• Occupation and larynx and hypopharynx cancer: a job-exposure matrix approach in an international case-control study in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland — F. Berrino, L. Richiardi, et al. (2003)
• Occupational exposures and cancer of the larynx-systematic review and meta-analysis — S. Paget-Bailly, D. Cyr, et al. (2012)
• Global, regional and country-specific burden of larynx cancer due to occupational exposure to asbestos: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 — S. Zhang, D. Du, et al. (2025)
• Occupational cancer burden in Great Britain — L. Rushton, S.J. Hutchings, et al. (2012)
• Ionising radiation and occupational cancer in Britain — C.R. Muirhead, R. Haylock (2012)

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