Air pollution and lung cancer in Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China.

A correlation study linking age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rates with indices of air pollution was conducted as a first step in the investigation of the high rate of lung cancer in Liaoning Province. Mortality rates for this cancer during 1976-78 for males and females were elevated in the large industrial cities with metallurgical processing and machinery manufacturing industries, after smoking was taken into account. However, there was little correlation between measures of total suspended particulates and lung cancer rates across the 10 major cities of the Province. Neighborhood air pollution indices correlated significantly with local commune mortality rates within the largest city, and lung cancer rates were higher near certain point sources of industrial pollution (including a copper-zinc smelter). These findings indicate that the atmospheric pollution in this northern Chinese province may contribute to lung cancer risk and that further analytic epidemiologic study in this high-risk area is warranted for evaluation of the role of outdoor and indoor air pollutants.