Lung Cancer of Uranium Miners on the Colorado Plateau

Previous reports have shown a small but definite increase of cancer of the lung among uranium miners in a defined study group. In the present study all men with cancer of the lung found during a 16-yr period were analyzed. The cases were collected in an area covering 15 counties, embracing the uranium industry in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah. Comparison of the tumor cell types revealed the uranium miners to have a high proportion (57 per cent) of the undifferentiated variety of tumors; 76 per cent of these were of the oat cell type. The comparison group, matched for age and smoking, had only 18 per cent of the undifferentiated cell type tumors. Only 37 per cent of the lung tumors of the uranium miners were of the epidermoid variety in contrast to 62 per cent for the control group. The difference in cell type cannot be attributed to cigarets or age. Differences in survival time, symptoms and tumor location were also noted.