Incidence of non-lung solid cancers in Czech uranium miners: A case–cohort study

Objectives: Uranium miners are chronically exposed to radon and its progeny, which are known to cause lung cancer and may be associated with leukemia. This study was undertaken to evaluate risk of non-lung solid cancers among uranium miners in Příbram region, Czech Republic.Methods: A retrospective stratified case–cohort study in a cohort of 22,816 underground miners who were employed between 1949 and 1975. All incident non-lung solid cancers were ascertained among miners who worked underground for at least 12 months (n=1020). A subcohort of 1707 subjects was randomly drawn from the same population by random sampling stratified on age. The follow-up period lasted from 1977 to 1996.Results: Relative risks comparing 180 WLM (90th percentile) of cumulative lifetime radon exposure to 3 WLM (10th percentile) were 0.88 for all non-lung solid cancers combined (95% CI 0.73–1.04, n=1020), 0.87 for all digestive cancers (95% CI 0.69–1.09, n=561), 2.39 for gallbladder cancer (95% CI 0.52–10.98, n=13), 0.79 for larynx cancer (95% CI 0.38–1.64, n=62), 2.92 for malignant melanoma (95% CI 0.91–9.42, n=23), 0.84 for bladder cancer (95% CI 0.43–1.65, n=73), and 1.13 for kidney cancer (95% CI 0.62–2.04, n=66). No cancer type was significantly associated with radon exposure; only malignant melanoma and gallbladder cancer showed elevated but non-significant association with radon.Conclusions: Radon was not significantly associated with incidence of any cancer of interest, although a positive association of radon with malignant melanoma and gallbladder cancer cannot be entirely ruled out.

Research highlights
► Uranium miners are chronically exposed to radon.
► We evaluate risk of non-lung solid cancers among uranium miners.
► No cancer type was significantly associated with radon exposure.
► Malignant melanoma and gallbladder cancer showed non-significant elevated risk.