Association of lung cancer and airway particle concentration.

Using 15 autopsy lungs containing nonresected lung cancers, we evaluated the exogenous mineral particle content of the upper and lower lobe parenchyma and of the upper and lower lobe bronchial mucosa. The bronchial mucosa from the lobe with the cancer was found to contain about three times the median mineral particle load of the bronchial mucosa from the lobe without the cancer, a statistically significant difference. No such difference was seen for mineral content of the parenchyma. This observation suggests that mineral particle deposition or accumulation in the bronchial mucosa may be related to respiratory carcinogenesis.