Uranium Mining and Cigarette Smoking Effects on Man

Our plain-English summary of Uranium Mining and Cigarette Smoking Effects on Man, by V.E. Archer, J.K. Wagoner, F.E. Ludin JR (1973).

The study

• Authors: V.E. Archer, J.K. Wagoner, F.E. Ludin JR
• Published: Journal of Occupational Medicine, Volume 15 No.3, March 1973
• Type of article: Journal article
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This article studied United States uranium miners, exposed to radioactive radon daughters, and how cigarette smoking affected their lungs. It is not a study of asbestos. Of 207 lung cancers the authors learned of among uranium miners, all but three were in cigarette-smoking men, although only 71% of uranium miners smoked. To test whether smoking promotes cancer, the authors compared non-cigarette users, former smokers and light smokers with matched heavy-smoking miners with lung cancer. Lung cancer was diagnosed at a younger age in cigarette smokers than in nonsmokers, which the authors said was shown only by matching men on age at start of uranium mining. The time from starting uranium mining to cancer was longer in non-cigarette users (p less than 0.10). Low FEV1, a breathing test, was associated with cigarettes smoked, radiation exposure and age. Small cell undifferentiated lung cancer was associated with radiation exposure. The authors concluded that promotion or cocarcinogenesis was the more probable role of smoking, rather than synergism. They noted unstable numbers for nonsmokers and that silica dust was not measured.

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: Epidemiological study of uranium miners (medical survey and mortality data), including a comparison of lung cancer cases with matched controls
• Who was studied: United States uranium miners: a Study Group examined in periodic medical surveys, plus a less well defined group in which 207 lung cancers were known; controls came from 152 other known lung cancer cases among uranium miners
• Exposure: Radon daughter (radiation) exposure in uranium mines, measured in Working Level Months (WLM), and cigarette smoking. Silica dust was considered but not measured. Controls were matched on age at start of uranium mining, cumulative radon daughter exposure, and years of other hard rock mining.
• Main results:
  • Among 207 lung cancers in uranium miners, all but three were in cigarette-smoking males. Smokers made up 98.6% of the lung cancer cases, compared with 71% of uranium miners who smoked.
  • The mean age at diagnosis of lung cancer was lower among cigarette smokers than among nonsmokers.
  • The authors stated that the younger age at diagnosis in smokers was demonstrated only by matching the men on age at start of uranium mining.
  • The induction-latent period (time from start of uranium mining to lung cancer) was longer in non-cigarette users than in cigarette smokers (p less than 0.10). The average among United States uranium miners was 17 years.
  • No definite association was found between cigarette smoking and vital capacity. Low FEV1 was associated with cumulative cigarettes smoked, cumulative radiation exposure and age.
  • Small cell undifferentiated lung cancer was associated with radiation exposure. The authors judged radiation exposure and age to be the two principal determinants of cell type.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the role of cigarette smoking in uranium miners' lung cancer was more probably promotion or cocarcinogenesis than synergism, while stating that synergism could not be ruled out.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Comparisons were affected by differences in populations, unstable numbers for nonsmokers, and possibly inadequate adjustment for age and residence.
  • No quantitative measurements of silica dust were available.
  • The average induction-latent period of 17 years may become longer as the miners are followed longer.
  • The authors' considerations could not rule out synergism.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, FEV1.

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