An analysis of health data collected through the World Trade Center Health Program of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, has found cancer incidence rates statistically higher than expected among World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers.

Elevations were found for cancers in all areas of the the human body combined, as well as for specific cancers that attack the thyroid, prostate, blood, lymphoid and soft tissues.

The research found cancer rates were the highest in those highly-exposed responders trapped in the dust cloud that resulted when the World Trade Center towers collapsed or who worked a significant number of days at the WTC site, otherwise known as Ground Zero.

The study, “Cancer Incidence in World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers, 2001-2008,” was founded on self-reported health information, along with follow-up medical testing data from 20,984 consenting participants in the WTC Health Program.

A total 575 cancers were diagnosed in 552 individuals.

Released online April 23 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the findings were in agreement with previous research on firefighters conducted by the New York City Fire Department and with research on New York City residents conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s WTC Health Registry.

But, while “previous studies have looked at cancer incidence rates after September 11,” they overlooked the linkages between time, place and levels of exposure, said study co-author Philip Landrigan, MD. “This study is significant because for the first time it examines associations between several types of cancers in a specific population – WTC rescue and recovery workers – and levels of exposure to the dust on the debris pile in lower Manhattan.”

Cancers among the 20,984 consenting participants in the WTC Health Program were identified through state tumor registries in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

Standardized incidence rates were calculated to compare cancers diagnosed in responders to predicted numbers for the general population.
“The findings of this study, while significant, should be interpreted with caution given the short follow-up and long latency period for most cancers,” said corresponding study author Samara Solan, MD, an Instructor of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. “However, our findings strongly highlight the need for continued follow-up and medical surveillance of WTC responders.”

The World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program stands as the federal government’s principal public health response to 9/11 and continues to coordinate the NY-NJ Consortium of occupational medicine providers of program services.

With funding from the federal government, the treatment program offers free and confidential medical and mental health evaluation, long-term monitoring and treatment for eligible WTC rescue, recovery and clean-up workers, including volunteers, who responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Since its July 2002 kickoff, the program has medically screened over 30,000 WTC rescue and recovery workers and volunteers in all 50 states.

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One sticking point in the agreement has been cancer cases that are expected to be assigned relatively low settlement amounts because they cannot be directly linked to exposure to contaminants at ground zero.

“If you ask me what’s wrong with the settlement, it’s cancer,” Judge Hellerstein acknowledged.

But he urged the plaintiffs to accept the settlement as the best possible alternative. “There’s no way the remedy will equal your pain,” he said.

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