Lung cancer in chromate workers--analysis of 11 cases

We have experienced 11 cases of lung carcinoma in workers at a chromate factory during the past 14 years. All patients were males. The age of onset ranged from 41 to 68 years. Ten of the 11 were heavy smokers. The time of exposure to chromate was from 17 to 29 years and the average was 23.9 years. Seven patients had perforation of their nasal septa. The primary sites of the cancers were from the lobar to the subsegmental bronchi. There were nine squamous cell carcinomas and three small cell carcinomas. Four squamous cell carcinomas were hilar type early stage cancers and two of them were found in one patient at the same time. The chromium content of the lung tissue in the seven patients tested was from 13.9 to 2,368.4 micrograms/g of dry tissue and was higher than that of lung cancer or non-lung cancer cases without chromate exposure. There was no severe dysplasia of the bronchial epithelium in these 11 patients.