Risk of Lung Cancer and Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Among Workers Cohorts - Worldwide, 1969-2022

China CDC Wkly. 2022 Apr 29;4(17):364-369. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2022.085.

Abstract

What is already known about this topic?: Lung cancer has a high mortality, resulting in a severe disease burden. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are definitive carcinogen to human, and occupational exposure to PAHs is associated with lung cancer.

What is added by this report?: We analyzed the cancer cases from cohort studies on various PAHs exposed workers in China and other countries, calculated the quantitative risk of lung cancer based on meta-analyses, and confirmed the increased risk from lung cancer in selected PAHs exposed occupations.

What are the implications for public health practices?: There is a clear need to prevent lung cancer on a wide range of PAHs-related occupations in China and around the world. It is crucial to establish guidelines for improving the monitoring on exposure and health promotion in related working environments.

Keywords: PAHs; lung cancer; risk.

Grants and funding

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971416, 82073525), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7214279)