ReviewJournal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England)2026
Welding and brazing fumes and lung cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPrevious systematic reviews have adopted binary exposure classifications without characterizing the heterogeneity of welding fume exposures. We aimed to estimate lung cancer risk from welding fumes with systematic exposure characterization by process type, base material, and metal fume component, and to examine evidence for related high-temperature processes.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science through July 2025 for cohort, case-control and other epidemiological studies. Exposure information was systematically extracted from full-text descriptions and classified by welding process, base material, and metal fume component. Separate random-effects meta-analyses were performed for comparative risk and standardized ratio estimates.
resultsOf 86 studies meeting inclusion criteria, 58 were included in quantitative synthesis after excluding 12 overlapping cohorts and 16 high-risk-of-bias studies; 39 comparative risk and 22 standardized ratio studies were analyzed. The pooled relative risk was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.36-1.67; I
conclusionsWelding fume exposure is associated with approximately 50% increased lung cancer risk, with consistent sensitivity analyses. Process-specific analyses suggest elevated risks for GMAW and stainless steel welding, though based on limited data, warranting further investigation alongside prioritized prevention efforts. Data on brazing, soldering, and flame cutting were limited, representing evidence gaps for future research.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD420251238410.
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