Silicosis and lung cancer among Chinese granite workers

Of the 184 cases of silicosis registered between 1 January 1970 and 31 December 1984 in Singapore, all the relevant information was available for 159, which were linked to the population-based National Cancer Register for lung cancer. Nine cases of lung cancer were found. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was computed with the age- and calendar-specific incidence of lung cancer rates of Chinese males in Singapore as a basis. Excess risk of lung cancer was found (SIR 2.01, 95% confidence interval 0.92-3.81). Adjustment for smoking showed that it alone could not account for the excess lung cancer risk. There was an increasing, but not significant, trend with increasing severity of silicosis and exposure duration. The results suggest that the severity of silicosis and possibly exposure to free silica may have contributed to the excess of lung cancer among the cases of silicosis studied.