Lee I M, Hennekens C H, Trichopoulos D, Buring J E
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
J Occup Environ Med. 1995 Jun;37(6):725-38. doi: 10.1097/00043764-199506000-00016.
Because asbestos has been demonstrated to cause lung cancer, the issue regarding safety of other fibers, including man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF), has been raised. We reviewed the available evidence, in particular the epidemiologic data, on MMVF and the risk of respiratory system cancer. Glass fibers (especially glass wool) have been studied most extensively. Taken together, the data indicate that among those occupationally exposed, glass fibers do not appear to increase risk of respiratory system cancer. Of six studies that specifically examined rock and slag wool workers, three reported excesses in respiratory system cancer among such workers. Two of these three studies, however, did not control for cigarette smoking, a powerful predictor of such cancers. There are no published studies, in humans, of refractory ceramic fibers. Future studies evaluating the potential of MMVF to increase risk of respiratory system cancer will not add to existing knowledge if investigators do not address potential confounding by cigarette smoking and other workplace carcinogens.
由于已证实石棉会导致肺癌，因此人们提出了关于包括人造玻璃纤维（MMVF）在内的其他纤维安全性的问题。我们回顾了现有的证据，特别是关于MMVF与呼吸系统癌症风险的流行病学数据。玻璃纤维（尤其是玻璃棉）的研究最为广泛。综合来看，数据表明，在职业暴露人群中，玻璃纤维似乎不会增加呼吸系统癌症的风险。在六项专门研究岩棉和矿渣棉工人的研究中，有三项报告称此类工人的呼吸系统癌症发病率过高。然而，这三项研究中的两项没有对吸烟进行控制，而吸烟是此类癌症的一个有力预测因素。目前尚无关于难熔陶瓷纤维对人体影响的已发表研究。如果研究人员不解决吸烟和其他工作场所致癌物造成的潜在混杂问题，那么未来评估MMVF增加呼吸系统癌症风险可能性的研究将无法增加现有知识。
