13:30 - 15:30, No.2 Conference Room
Workshop E
Epidemiology and Public Health
Chairs: Gunnar Hillerdal and Kohki Inai
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Yuichi Ishikawa1, Yukitoshi Satoh1, Ayako Takata2, Norihiko Kohyama3.
1Department of Pathology, Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Japan
2School of Medicine, St. Marianna University, Kawasaki, Japan
3National Institute of Industrial Health, Kawasaki, Japan
ABSTRACT
To investigate the causes of rapidly increasing lung cancer in the general population of Japan, we analyzed time-trends of asbestos concentrations in lungs. We examined primary lung cancers (8 in 1950's, 47 in 1970's and 53 1990's) in terms of asbestos deposition in the lung. Also, we compared asbestos concentrations in the lung between primary and metastatic lung adenocarcinomas in 1970's. Mean asbestos body concentrations (AB) (numbers per g of lung (dry)) were 559, 1842 and 353 in 1950's, 1970's and 1990's, respectively. AB in primary cancers in 1970s was 2050 (n=48) in males, significantly higher than that of metastatic cancers, 703 (n=18), although the difference was not significant in females. Statistically significant increase in the concentration of 1970's primary lung cancers was noted. However, since the lung cancer incidence in Japan has been continuously rising from 1950 to 1990, asbestos exposure is not deemed to be a main cause of recent increase of lung cancer in the period.
Correspondence: Y. Ishikawa, phone: 81-3-3918-0111 ext 4324; fax: 81-3-5394-3923; e-mail: ishikawa@jfcr.or.jp