Status of occupational cancer in Lithuania

Our plain-English summary of Status of occupational cancer in Lithuania, by R. Everatt, R. Jankauskas, A. Kuciauskaité (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2006).

The study

• Authors: R. Everatt, R. Jankauskas, A. Kuciauskaité
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2006;12(1):24-7
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Because industrialization in Lithuania started only about 50 years ago, occupational cancer is only now becoming an important issue. This article describes the situation of occupational cancer in Lithuania: research, exposures to carcinogens, regulation, and legal practice. Epidemiologic studies of work-related cancers have shown increased risks among cement, textile, and asbestos-cement workers. In 1997, 28% of employed workers in Lithuania were exposed to carcinogens. A legislation system regulating exposures to carcinogens, harmonized with European Directives, has recently been created. In 1995-2003, there were 5,652 new cases of occupational diseases. However, occupational cancers are seriously underdiagnosed--only one case of cancer was diagnosed as occupational. Establishment of a system that would enable diagnosis, certification, and compensation of cases of occupational neoplasms is essential in Lithuania.

In plain English

This article was an overview, not a new study, of occupational cancer in Lithuania: research, carcinogen exposures, regulation and legal practice. Citing 1997 estimates, the authors reported 470,000 workers (28% of employed workers) exposed to carcinogens, 7,451 of them to asbestos. About 700,000 tons of raw asbestos had been used in Lithuania since 1961, mainly imported chrysotile, and asbestos was banned completely in 2004. No asbestosis case was recorded in 1995-2003, though three cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to asbestos dust were compensated. There were 125 recognized mesothelioma cases in 1992-2001, and no mesothelioma case had been compensated as occupational disease. The article described an earlier Lithuanian study of asbestos-cement workers. That study found no increase in lung cancer or any other cancer except colorectal cancer. Since 1994, only one cancer, a lung cancer, had been compensated as occupational. The authors expected at least 53 occupational lung cancers among men each year. They noted that individual, reliable exposure measurements were lacking. The authors concluded that a system to diagnose, certify and compensate occupational cancers is essential in Lithuania.

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: Descriptive overview (review) of occupational cancer research, carcinogen exposures, regulation, compensation and legal practice in Lithuania; not an original study
• Who was studied: Workers in Lithuania, drawing on national exposure estimates for 1997 and occupational disease registry data, including 5,652 new occupational disease cases in 1995-2003
• Exposure: Occupational carcinogens generally (including wood dust, crystalline silica, diesel exhaust, benzene, vinyl chloride monomer and asbestos). For asbestos: about 700,000 tons of raw asbestos used since 1961, mainly imported chrysotile from Russia and Kazakhstan, mostly for asbestos-cement products
• Main results:
  • Using 1997 CAREX estimates, 470,000 workers (28% of employed workers in Lithuania) were exposed to agents covered by CAREX
  • In 1997, 7,451 workers were exposed to asbestos, 42% of them in the construction sector
  • A 2002-2003 survey of the work environment found the highest asbestos concentrations in the machinery-production industry (up to 0.19 f/cm3) and the chemical industry (up to 0.15 f/cm3)
  • Asbestos importation and use were limited from 2000 and banned completely in 2004
  • No case of asbestosis was recorded in 1995-2003. Three cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to asbestos dust were compensated (a shipyard worker, a construction worker-insulator and a glass-industry worker)
  • There were 125 recognized mesothelioma cases in Lithuania in 1992-2001, and no mesothelioma case had been compensated as occupational disease
  • The article described an earlier historical cohort study of Lithuanian asbestos-cement workers (not this article's own research). That study found no increase in lung cancer or any other cancer except colorectal cancer, and it was explained by use of chrysotile only and relatively low exposure levels
  • Since the occupational disease register was set up in 1994, only one cancer had been diagnosed and compensated as occupational: a lung cancer in a road building/repair worker attributed to chemical substances
  • Based on published estimates of the proportion of lung cancers caused by occupation, the authors expected at least 53 occupational lung cancer cases among men in Lithuania each year
  • Lithuania had only 29 licensed occupational medicine practitioners, which the authors linked to considerable underreporting of occupational diseases
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that occupational cancers are underdiagnosed in Lithuania and that a system enabling diagnosis, certification and compensation of occupational cancer victims is essential
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Individual and reliable exposure measurements are lacking
  • Systematic national data on exposure intensities and their changes over time are not available
  • Interpretation of the 2002-2003 asbestos workplace survey results is complicated by insufficient data

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Cement, Occupational Disease, Neoplasm.

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