Lung cancer bronchial airways

The histological types of lung cancer seen to excess in uranium miners reflect those in the population at large (Masse, 1984). These occur almost entirely in bronchial airways. Approximately 207 are adenocarcinomas which occur in peripheral bronchioles (Spencer, 1977) where there are no basal cells. Squamous cell cancers predominate in miners exposed early in life to relatively low concentrations of radon daughters (Saccomanno et aJL., 1982). These are considered likely to arise from the secretory small mucous granular cells which undergo cell division and extend to the epithelial surface (Masse, personal communication). Division of these cells is accelerated after irritation by toxicants such as cigarette smoke or infectious diseases (Trump et a L., 1978). 

It is reasonable to conclude that dose to cells throughout the bronchial tree may contribute to the risk of lung cancer and not just the dose received by certain cells in the large central airways. It is probably also appropriate to evaluate the dose absorbed by cells throughout the depth of bronchial epithelium, i.e. the mean dose,... 

Some investigators suggest that an impaired mucociliary clearance and the increased retention of particles in the airways might correlate with the occurrence of lung cancer. Churg and Stevens (59) found an association between particles retained in certain airway walls and the occurrence of lung cancer in these lobes. The bronchial mucosa from the lobe with the cancer contained about three times more mineral particles than the lobe without the cancer. 

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