[Etiological studies on Yunnan tin miners' lung cancer].

There is a high incidence of lung cancer among Yunnan tin miners. The results showed: as animal models, methylcholanthrene, 3, 4 BaP and diethylnitrosamine could successfully induce lung cancer in hamsters. In the etiological investigations of experimental lung cancer, Yunnan tin mine dust containing 15 inorganic chemical elements as As, Pb, Fe, Al, Ti, Zn, Cr, Mn, Zr, Ni, Cd, V, Be, Co and Ag (CM1) or 7 inorganic chemical elements as As, Pb, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cd and Be (CM2) could induce lung cancer in hamsters too. Ames test and cell transformation test of CM1 and CM2 were positive. The mutagenicity test and cancer inducing experiment of flue dust showed positive. All these pointed out that the tin mine powder, the mixed dust of a part of its elements (CM1, CM2) and flue dust had a cancer inducing effect. Therefore, the cause of Yunnan tin miners' lung cancer could be the synthetic effect of multiple factors.