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World Trade Center Pulmonary Diseases and Multi-Organ System Manifestations pp 81–93Cite as

Cancer Risk Post 9/11

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Abstract

The presence of carcinogens in materials released from fires and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) raises the possibility that WTC exposures could lead to an increased risk of cancer. Early assessments of cancer incidence have been published in four WTC-exposed populations to date: firefighters employed by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), rescue and recovery workers enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) health monitoring program, WTC registry enrollees (rescue and recovery workers and community survivors), and police officers employed by the New York City Police Department. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancers of all sites combined are modestly elevated in all studies, although excesses in cancers that can be detected by screening or increased medical scrutiny, such as melanoma, prostate, and thyroid cancer, predominate. Although there are few statistically significant SIRs apart from these highly detectable cancers, SIRs > 1.00 for certain cancers are elevated in several cohorts, including the esophagus, stomach, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, urinary bladder, and kidney. Continued follow-up of these cohorts will be needed to more fully characterize potential cancer risks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Intramural Research, American Cancer Society, 250 Williams St., Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    Elizabeth Ward

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  1. Elizabeth Ward
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Ward .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia University Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Epidemiology Group, CDC NIOSH U01 0H011308 “9/11 Trauma and Toxicity in Childhood: Longitudinal Health and Behavioral Outcomes”, New York, New York, USA

    Anthony M. Szema

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Ward, E. (2018). Cancer Risk Post 9/11. In: Szema, A. (eds) World Trade Center Pulmonary Diseases and Multi-Organ System Manifestations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59372-2_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59372-2_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59371-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59372-2

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