Incidence of cancer among anthophyllite asbestos miners in Finland

Our plain-English summary of Incidence of cancer among anthophyllite asbestos miners in Finland, by L.O. Meurman, E. Pukkala, M. Hakama (Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 1994).

The study

• Authors: L.O. Meurman, E. Pukkala, M. Hakama
• Journal: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 1994;51(6):421-5
• Cited by: 64 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

A cohort of 736 male and 167 female workers of two anthophyllite mines in Finland was followed up through the Finnish Cancer Registry for cancer in 1953-91. Compared with the total cancer incidence of the east Finnish population, the men had a raised risk of total cancer (standardised incidence ratio (SIR) 1.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.4-1.9), mainly attributable to an excess in lung cancer (SIR 2.8; 95% CI 2.2-3.6). The risk of lung cancer was somewhat higher among workers classified as heavily exposed (SIR 3.2; 95% CI 2.4-4.1) than among those moderately exposed (SIR 2.3; 95% CI 1.5-3.6) and the risk increased with increasing smoking and with increasing time of work with exposure. There were four cases of mesothelioma v 0.1 expected, all in men who smoked and had had a long and heavy asbestos exposure. Among women, a non-significant excess in total cancer (SIR 1.5; 95% CI 0.9-2.4) was found in the subgroup with heavy exposure to asbestos. Anthophyllite asbestos seems to have high potency in the carcinogenesis of lung cancer and low potency in carcinogenesis of mesothelioma in comparison with the other types of asbestos.

In plain English

The authors followed 736 men and 167 women who had worked at least three months between 1953 and 1967 at two anthophyllite asbestos mines in Finland. They used the Finnish Cancer Registry to find cancers from 1953 to 1991 and compared them with regional rates. Among the men, 137 cancers were found (standardised incidence ratio, SIR, 1.7; 95% confidence interval 1.4 to 1.9). Lung cancer was raised in heavily exposed men (those who had worked in the mines or mill) (SIR 3.2; 2.4 to 4.1). It was also raised in moderately exposed men (SIR 2.3; 1.5 to 3.6). Among interviewed men, lung cancer risk rose with amount smoked. Four mesotheliomas, three pleural and one peritoneal, occurred in heavily exposed men against 0.06 expected. All four men smoked and had been exposed for 13 to 31 years. Among heavily exposed women, a total cancer excess was not statistically significant; endometrial cancer was raised (SIR 6.8; 2.2 to 16). The authors concluded that anthophyllite seemed to have high potency for lung cancer and low potency for mesothelioma compared with other asbestos types.

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: retrospective cohort study of cancer incidence, using registry follow-up and comparison with regional cancer rates
• Who was studied: 736 men and 167 women who had worked at least three months between 1 January 1953 and 1 July 1967 at two anthophyllite asbestos mines (Paakkila and Maljasalmi) in Finland, followed for cancer from 1953 to 1991
• Exposure: Anthophyllite asbestos mining. Workers in the mines or the mill were classed as heavily exposed and all other personnel as moderately exposed. Smoking was also recorded for workers interviewed in 1967.
• Main results:
  • Men, all cancers: SIR 1.7 (95% CI 1.4 to 1.9)
  • Men: 137 cancer cases. The expected number is printed as "82X7". It is read here as 82.7 because 137 divided by 82.7 gives the table's all-sites SIR of 1.66.
  • Men, lung cancer: SIR 3.2 (95% CI 2.4 to 4.1) among heavily exposed men and SIR 2.3 (95% CI 1.5 to 3.6) among moderately exposed men
  • Men, lung cancer by histological type: no significant differences were found between types
  • Interviewed men: the lung cancer SIR rose with increasing amount smoked, in both the heavy and the moderate exposure groups
  • Heavily exposed men: the lung cancer SIR rose with duration of exposure up to about 20 years; in the moderately exposed group there seemed to be no such trend
  • Heavily exposed men with at least five years of exposed time: 37 lung cancers, SIR 5.54 (95% CI 3.90 to 7.63)
  • Heavily exposed men, mesothelioma: four cases (three pleural, one peritoneal) against 0.06 expected, SIR 67 (95% CI 18 to 172)
  • The four men with mesothelioma had all been heavily exposed for 13 to 31 years and all smoked
  • The time from first employment to detection of mesothelioma was 39 to 53 years
  • Heavily exposed women: a non-significant excess in total cancer (SIR 1.5; 95% CI 0.9 to 2.4)
  • 98 heavily exposed women: 16 cancer cases. The expected number is printed as "107". It is read here as 10.7 because 16 divided by 10.7 gives the table's SIR of 1.49. Most of the excess was endometrial cancer (SIR 6.8; 95% CI 2.2 to 16).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that anthophyllite asbestos seems to have high potency for causing lung cancer and low potency for causing mesothelioma, compared with the other types of asbestos.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The regional reference rate for mesothelioma was based on few cases, which made the mesothelioma SIR estimate unstable
  • The numbers of other cancer types were too small for clear conclusions
  • The reference population included smokers, so lung cancer SIRs for smokers understate the risk compared with a non-smoking, unexposed population
  • Any problems with follow-up would be in the manual record linkage for people who died before 1 January 1967
  • Comparing lung cancer risk across studies of miners of different asbestos types is difficult because the studies differ in their materials

Mines named here

Asbestos mines this study is about. Each mine's page says who ran it, when it worked, and what it produced.

• Paakkila mine, Finland

All asbestos mines

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Anthophyllite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Anthophyllite, Cancer Registry, Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR), confidence interval, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Carcinogenesis.

Related studies

• Four cases of mesothelioma among Finnish anthophyllite miners — A. Karjalainen, L.O. Meurman, et al. (1994)
• Combined effect of asbestos exposure and tobacco smoking on Finnish anthophyllite miners and millers — L.O. Meurman, R. Kiviluoto, et al. (1979)
• Malignant mesothelioma incidence among talc miners and millers in New York State — M.M. Finkelstein (2012)
• Anthophyllite asbestos: state of the science review — S.H. Gaffney, M. Grespin, et al. (2017)
• High frequency and severity of pleural changes in former workers exposed to anthophyllite associated with other contaminating amphibole asbestos in Brazil — R.F. Macedo, E.M.F.P. Cerqueira, et al. (2019)
• Mortality in a cohort of vermiculite miners exposed to fibrous amphibole in Libby, Montana — J.C. McDonald, J. Harris, et al. (2004)

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