ArticleLancet (London, England)2011
Early assessment of cancer outcomes in New York City firefighters after the 9/11 attacks: an observational cohort study.
Article in Lancet (London, England), 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Cancer Incidence and Mortality among Firefighters: An Overview of Epidemiologic Systematic Reviews.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Cancer risks of firefighters: a systematic review and meta-analysis of secular trends and region-specific differences.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2020Pooled it
- The rise of multiple imputation: a review of the reporting and implementation of the method in medical research.BMC medical research methodology · 2015Pooled it
- Evolving Cancer Characteristics Among World Trade Center Survivors: An Updated Analysis from the WTC Environmental Health Center.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Non-invasive liver fibrosis scores and mortality in a cohort of World Trade Center rescue/recovery workers.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Epigenetic aging acceleration among World Trade Center-exposed community members.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Managing cancer following the World Trade Center disaster.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2024Article
- DNA Methylation as a Molecular Mechanism of Carcinogenesis in World Trade Center Dust Exposure: Insights from a Structured Literature Review.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles and breast cancer among World Trade Center survivors.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2024Article
- World Trade Center Exposure, DNA Methylation Changes, and Cancer: A Review of Current Evidence.Epigenomes · 2023Review
- Association of Lung Function Decline with All-Cause and Cancer-Cause Mortality after World Trade Center Dust Exposure.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2023Article
- TERT and BRAF V600E mutations in thyroid cancer of World Trade Center Responders.Carcinogenesis · 2023Article
- Firefighting and Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies in the Context of Cancer Hazard Identification.Safety and health at work · 2023Review
- All-cause and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of WTC-exposed and non-WTC-exposed firefighters.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2023Article
- Cancer risk and mortality among firefighters: a meta-analytic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- Cancer in female firefighters: The clinicobiological, psychological, and social perspectives.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Characteristics of Cancers in Community Members Exposed to the World Trade Center Disaster at a Young Age.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Myeloma precursor disease (MGUS) among rescue and recovery workers exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.Blood cancer journal · 2022Observational
- Lung cancer incidence among world trade center rescue and recovery workers.Cancer medicine · 2022Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) on Sept 11, 2001 (9/11) created the potential for occupational exposure to known and suspected carcinogens. We examined cancer incidence and its potential association with exposure in the first 7 years after 9/11 in firefighters with health information before 9/11 and minimal loss to follow-up.
methodsWe assessed 9853 men who were employed as firefighters on Jan 1, 1996. On and after 9/11, person-time for 8927 firefighters was classified as WTC-exposed; all person-time before 9/11, and person-time after 9/11 for 926 non-WTC-exposed firefighters, was classified as non-WTC exposed. Cancer cases were confirmed by matches with state tumour registries or through appropriate documentation. We estimated the ratio of incidence rates in WTC-exposed firefighters to non-exposed firefighters, adjusted for age, race and ethnic origin, and secular trends, with the US National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) reference population. CIs were estimated with overdispersed Poisson models. Additional analyses included corrections for potential surveillance bias and modified cohort inclusion criteria.
findingsCompared with the general male population in the USA with a similar demographic mix, the standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of the cancer incidence in WTC-exposed firefighters was 1·10 (95% CI 0·98-1·25). When compared with non-exposed firefighters, the SIR of cancer incidence in WTC-exposed firefighters was 1·19 (95% CI 0·96-1·47) corrected for possible surveillance bias and 1·32 (1·07-1·62) without correction for surveillance bias. Secondary analyses showed similar effect sizes.
interpretationWe reported a modest excess of cancer cases in the WTC-exposed cohort. We remain cautious in our interpretation of this finding because the time since 9/11 is short for cancer outcomes, and the reported excess of cancers is not limited to specific organ types. As in any observational study, we cannot rule out the possibility that effects in the exposed group might be due to unidentified confounders. Continued follow-up will be important and should include cancer screening and prevention strategies.
fundingNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.