Assessment of the Effectiveness of Radon Screening Programs in Reducing Lung Cancer Mortality

Abstract

The present study was aimed at assessing the health consequences of the presence of radon in Quebec homes and the possible impact of various screening programs on lung cancer mortality. Lung cancer risk due to this radioactive gas was estimated according to the cancer risk model developed by the Sixth Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations. Objective data on residential radon exposure, population mobility, and tobacco use in the study population were integrated into a Monte-Carlo-type model. Participation rates to radon screening programs were estimated from published data. According to the model used, approximately 10% of deaths due to lung cancer are attributable to residential radon exposure on a yearly basis in Quebec. In the long term, the promotion of a universal screening program would prevent less than one death/year on a province-wide scale (0.8 case; IC 99%: -3.6 to 5.2 cases/year), for an overall reduction of 0.19% in radon-related mortality. Reductions in mortality due to radon by (1) the implementation of a targeted screening program in the region with the highest concentrations, (2) the promotion of screening on a local basis with financial support, or (3) the realization of systematic investigations in primary and secondary schools would increase to 1%, 14%, and 16.4%, respectively, in the each of the populations targeted by these scenarios. Other than the battle against tobacco use, radon screening in public buildings thus currently appears as the most promising screening policy for reducing radon-related lung cancer.

Epidemiology of Lung Cancer

“…148 Factors identifi ed as important to developing optimal policy to minimize radon exposure include the distinction between new vs existing structures, public vs private structures, and the radon concentrations that should trigger action. [149][150][151] 3.1.4.3.2 Low-LET Radiation: X-rays and g -rays: Low-LET radiation has been studied in relation to lung cancer in atomic bomb survivors in Japan, 152 patients with diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis 153 or TB 154,155 who received multiple radiation treatments, and occupational groups in professions exposed to radiation. 156 The single, high-dose exposure of the atomic bomb survivors was associated with signifi cant lung cancer risk in a dose-dependent fashion.…”

Aspergillosis spores and medical marijuana

“…In Quebec, we have estimated that 90% of radon-related deaths involve "ever-smokers." 4 Such observations have led some experts to state that "the public health problem of radon is, for the most part, a problem of radon and smoking. "…”

Clinical trial transparency

“…These trials remain unpublished and have been available on the agency's website free of charge since 1998. [2][3][4] These documents are called "approval packages" and are detailed analyses conducted by FDA scientists. These packages must be made available to the public under the US Freedom of Information Act.…”