Multistage model description of French and Czech miner data: implications for radon-induced lung cancer risks

Biologically based models are useful tools for analysis of radiation-induced carcinogenesis. They can make a valuable contribution to quantification of the risk of lung cancer from radon at low exposure rates, which remains an important challenge in radiation protection research. In the present work, a two-mutation carcinogenesis model has been applied to two miner chorts with low exposure levels and a long follow-up. The aim was to derive radon-induced lung cancer risk estimates from a biologically based model solution that is consistent with both data sets and with previous model analysis of animal and human epidemiological data. The modelled ata includes 5098 and 5002 individuals from the French and Czech cohorts of uranium miners, with 125 and 449 observed lung cancer deaths respectively. for each miner the annual radon exposure has been reconstructed for the period of the (often long-lasting) occupation. The corresponding mean total cumulative exposure levels are 37 and 57 working level month (WLM) for the two cohorts respectively. (Author)