Does Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Predict to Lung Cancer?
Previous reports on the relationship between coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) and lung cancer mortality have shown widely differing results. Concern has centred especially around whether or not there is an aggregation of complicated CWP, or Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF), with lung cancer. This paper evaluates, among US coal miners, the CWP-lung cancer relationship by computing the lung cancer mortality risk of simple and complicated CWP as well as the interactions with cigarette smoking and ventilatory function. Two case-control studies based on 317 white male lung cancer mortality cases are presented. A one-to-one matched-case design allows examination of the lung cancer mortality risk of CWP and cigarette smoking. A two-to-one matched-case design controls on smoking status. Based upon these data, no evidence of a CWP-lung cancer risk was found, although the expected increased risk for lung cancer mortality in cigarette smokers was observed. No relationship was found between PM
