CANCER INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY AMONG FINNISH ASBESTOS SPRAYERS AND INASBESTOSIS AND SILICOSIS PATIENTS

Cohorts of Finnish asbestos sprayers and of asbestosis and silicosis p atients were followed for cancer with the aid of the Finnish Cancer Re gistry in the period 1967-1994. Compared with the cancer incidence of the total Finnish population, asbestos sprayers had an increased risk for total cancer (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] 6.7, 95% confiden ce interval [95% CI] 4.2-10); lung cancer (SIR 17, 95% CI 8.2-31); and mesothelioma (SIR 263, 95% Cl 85-614). The SIR of the asbestosis pati ents was 3.7 (95% CI 2.8-5.0) for all sites, 10 (95% CI 6.9-14) for lu ng cancer, and 65 (95% CI 13-188) for mesothelioma. The silicosis pati ents also had significantly high SIR values for all sites (1.5, 95% Cl 1.0-2.1) and lung Cancer (2.7, 95% Cl 1.5-4.5). The values for the SI R and the standardized mortality ratio for all sites and lung cancer w ere very similar, and therefore it seems that both are reliable indica tors of the occurrence of occupational cancer. It was concluded that p neumoconioses patients and asbestos-exposed workers have a markedly el evated risk for cancer. Asbestos-induced occupational cancers are not only diseases of the elderly, since the relative risk is high also for middle-aged people. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.