Environmental causes of lung cancer

Our plain-English summary of Environmental causes of lung cancer, by W.C. Hueper (Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1896), 1956).

The study

• Author: W.C. Hueper
• Journal: Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1896)
• Published: 1956;71(1):94-98
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

In plain English

This 1956 article was a short review, not a new study. It summarized the main findings of the author's longer Public Health Monograph No. 36 and drew on published epidemiological, clinical, pathological and experimental evidence about air pollutants and lung cancer. Asbestos was listed among the identified agents, along with nickel, chromium compounds, arsenicals, coal tar and soot. The article stated that respiratory cancer hazards had been shown for asbestos workers and other occupational groups, with lung cancer attack rates many times those of the general population of the same age and sex. It gave no asbestos-specific figures. It also stated that where women had similar exposure, as in the asbestos industry, lung cancer rates for the two sexes tended to equalize. The author concluded that several air pollutants were largely responsible for lung cancer, and argued that the evidence, critically evaluated, did not favor cigarette smoking as a major factor. The author also stated that the available data did not allow definite statements about the relative importance of the various carcinogens in the general population.

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: Review and opinion article summarizing the author's Public Health Monograph No. 36; no new data were collected
• Who was studied: No population was studied directly. The author reviewed existing evidence from several countries (including England, Germany, Austria and the United States) and from many occupational groups.
• Exposure: Environmental and occupational air pollutants: dusts and fumes of nickel, chromium compounds, arsenicals, asbestos, coal tar, soot, vapors or mists of isopropyl oil, certain petroleum derivatives, and radioactive ores and gases. Cigarette smoking was also discussed.
• Main results:
  • The author stated that respiratory cancer hazards had been demonstrated for asbestos workers, among other occupational groups such as nickel refinery workers, chromate manufacturers and radioactive ore miners.
  • For these occupational groups, lung cancer attack rates were described as many times those of the general population of the same age and sex. No specific figures were given.
  • Where women were employed with the same type and a similar degree of exposure, as in the asbestos industry, the author described a trend toward equal lung cancer attack rates for the two sexes.
  • Male industrial life insurance policyholders from low-income groups working in manufacturing, mining, transportation and similar jobs were reported to have lung cancer rates 30 to 50 percent higher than general policyholders (mainly white-collar workers and the self-employed). This figure came from earlier observations cited by the author.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that several, if not numerous, atmospheric pollutants are largely responsible for lung cancer. The author also concluded that, while cigarette smoking may have played a contributory role, the total evidence did not favor it as a major factor.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author stated that the available data did not permit definite statements about the relative importance of the various recognized respiratory carcinogens in producing cancer in the general population.

Topics

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

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