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. 2024 Jan 24:11:1306455.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1306455. eCollection 2023.

Survival of bronchopulmonary cancers according to radon exposure

Juliette Dessemon  1   2 , Olivia Perol  1   3 , Cécile Chauvel  4   5 , Hugo Noelle  1   2 , Thomas Coudon  1   3 , Lény Grassot  1   3 , Nicolas Foray  3 , Elodie Belladame  1   3 , Jérôme Fayette  6 , Françoise Fournie  7 , Aurélie Swalduz  6 , Eve-Marie Neidhart  6 , Pierre Saintigny  6 , Mayeul Tabutin  8 , Maxime Boussageon  3 , Frédéric Gomez  9 , Virginie Avrillon  6 , Maurice Perol  6 , Barbara Charbotel  10   11 , Béatrice Fervers  1   3
Affiliations

Survival of bronchopulmonary cancers according to radon exposure

Juliette Dessemon et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Residential exposure is estimated to be responsible for nearly 10% of lung cancers in 2015 in France, making it the second leading cause, after tobacco. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in the southwest of France, is particularly affected by this exposure as 30% of the population lives in areas with medium or high radon potential. This study aimed to investigate the impact of radon exposure on the survival of lung cancer patients.

Methods: In this single-center study, patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer, and newly managed, were prospectively included between 2014 and 2020. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were carried out using a non-proportional risk survival model to consider variations in risk over time.

Results: A total of 1,477 patients were included in the analysis. In the multivariate analysis and after adjustment for covariates, radon exposure was not statistically associated with survival of bronchopulmonary cancers (HR = 0.82 [0.54-1.23], HR = 0.92 [0.72-1.18], HR = 0.95 [0.76-1.19] at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively, for patients residing in category 2 municipalities; HR = 0.87 [0.66-1.16], HR = 0.92 [0.76-1.10], and HR = 0.89 [0.75-1.06] at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively, for patients residing in category 3 municipalities).

Discussion: Although radon exposure is known to increase the risk of lung cancer, in the present study, no significant association was found between radon exposure and survival of bronchopulmonary cancers.

Keywords: environmental exposure; lung cancer; public health; radon; survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of included patients.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Radon release potential from soil in the municipalities of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in 2019.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier survival curves according to residential radon potential categories.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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