Lung carcinoma in uranium miners, Czechoslovakia, 1976-1980

The analysis of the clinical data of uranium miners suffering from lung cancer in the years 1976-1980 was made. In 299 diseased men with lung cancer verified by histology and/or cytology the average age was 56.2 years. There were 52.8% of epidermoid carcinomas, 32.8% of small cell carcinomas, 5% of adenocarcinomas, and 9.4% of other, mixed, undifferentiated carcinomas. This distribution differed from those reported previously. In 25 survivors of 5 years (8.4%), there were 21 patients radically operated in the Stage I or II of the disease. In 84% of survivors the cancer was epidermoid. The lung cancer in uranium miners has not any proper characteristics excluding the age of diseased persons which is about 10-15 years lower than in current male population suffering from lung cancer.