Scientific Research

Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month
Cancer Risk By Type

Below are factsheets on the different cancer types that fire fighters have an elevated risk for.

Produced by the Center for Fire, Rescue and EMS Health Research, the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, and DectecTogether. 

  1. Occupational Epidemiology Overview
  2. Firefighters and Bladder Cancer
  3. Firefighters and Brain Cancer
  4. Firefighters and Breast Cancer
  5. Firefighters and Cervical Cancer
  6. Firefighters and Colorectal Cancer
  7. Firefighters and Esophageal Cancer
  8. Firefighters and Kidney Cancer
  9. Firefighters and Lung Cancer
  10. Firefighters and Melanoma
  11. Firefighters and Mesothelioma
  12. Firefighters and Multiple Myeloma
  13. Firefighters and Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
  14. Firefighters and Prostate Cancer
  15. Firefighters and Testicular Cancer
  16. Firefighters and Thyroid Cancer
recommended Research Studies (free)
  1. Zahm, S., Bonde, J. P., Chiu, W. A., Hoppin, J., Kanno, J., Abdallah, M., Blystone, C. R., Calkins, M. M., Dong, G.-H., Dorman, D. C., Fry, R., Guo, H., Haug, L. S., Hofmann, J. N., Iwasaki, M., Machala, M., Mancini, F. R., Maria-Engler, S. S., Møller, P., … Schubauer-Berigan, M. K. (2023). Carcinogenicity of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. The Lancet Oncology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00622-8
  2. Ledda, C., Bracci, M., Spadafora, A., Motta, G., Smecca, G., Catelan, D., & Rapisarda, V. (2023). Unmasking the Hidden Danger: A Decade-Long Systematic Review of Case-Control Studies on Single Occupational Risks and Prostate Cancer. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 13(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/life13091820
  3. Navarro, K. M., Fent, K., Mayer, A. C., Brueck, S. E., Toennis, C., Law, B., Meadows, J., Sammons, D., & Brown, S. (2023). Characterization of inhalation exposures at a wildfire incident during the Wildland Firefighter Exposure and Health Effects (WFFEHE) Study. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, wxad046. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxad046
  4. Girase, A., Thompson, D., & Ormond, R. B. (2023). Bench-Scale and Full-Scale Level Evaluation of the Effect of Parameters on Cleaning Efficacy of the Firefighters’ PPE. Textiles (Basel, Switzerland), 3(2), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles3020014
  5. Girase, A., Shinde, A., & Ormond, R. B. (2023). Qualitative Assessment of Off-Gassing of Compounds from Field-Contaminated Firefighter Jackets with Varied Air Exposure Time Intervals Using Headspace  GC-MS. Textiles (Basel, Switzerland), 3(2), 246–256. https://doi.org/10.3390/textiles3020016
  6. DeBono, N. L., Daniels, R. D., Beane Freeman, L. E., Graber, J. M., Hansen, J., Teras, L. R., Driscoll, T., Kjaerheim, K., Demers, P. A., Glass, D. C., Kriebel, D., Kirkham, T. L., Wedekind, R., Filho, A. M., Stayner, L., & Schubauer-Berigan, M. K. (2023). Firefighting and Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies in the Context of Cancer Hazard Identification. Safety and Health at Work, 14(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2023.02.003
  7. Jung, A. M., Beitel, S. C., Gutenkunst, S. L., Billheimer, D., Jahnke, S. A., Littau, S. R., White, M., Hoppe-Jones, C., Cherrington, N., & Burgess, J. L. (2023). Excretion of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and AhR activation in breastmilk among firefighters. Toxicological Sciences: An Official Journal of the Society of Toxicology, kfad017. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfad017
  8. Keir, J. L. A., Kirkham, T. L., Aranda-Rodriguez, R., White, P. A., & Blais, J. M. (2023). Effectiveness of dermal cleaning interventions for reducing firefighters’ exposures to PAHs and genotoxins. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 20(2), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2022.2150768
  9. Wilkinson, A. F., Fent, K. W., Mayer, A. C., Chen, I.-C., Kesler, R. M., Kerber, S., Smith, D. L., & Horn, G. P. (2023). Use of Preliminary Exposure Reduction Practices or Laundering to Mitigate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contamination on Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment Ensembles. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2108. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032108
  10. Wolffe, T. A. M., Robinson, A., Dickens, K., Turrell, L., Clinton, A., Maritan-Thomson, D., Joshi, M., & Stec, A. A. (2023). Cancer incidence amongst UK firefighters. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 22072. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24410-3
  11. Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D., Wagle, N. S., & Jemal, A. (2023). Cancer statistics, 2023. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 73(1), 17–48. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21763
  12. Kunz, K. R., Turcotte, K., Pawer, S., Zheng, A., Purewal, A., Wellar, A., Karmali, S., Garis, L., Thomas, L. S., & Pike, I. (2023). Cancer in female firefighters: The clinicobiological, psychological, and social perspectives. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1126066
recommended Research Studies (Paywall)
  1. Keir, J. L. A., Papas, W., Wawrzynczak, A., Aranda-Rodriguez, R., Blais, J. M., & White, P. A. (2023). Use of silicone wristbands to measure firefighters’ exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during live fire training. Environmental Research, 117306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117306
  2. Valek, S. A., Rousseau, M. A., Nelson, K. C., Kannler, C., & Tran, T. (2023). Melanoma risk among career firefighters: A systematic review of case-control studies. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 88(5), 1189–1192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2022.11.058
  3. Rosenfeld, P. E., Spaeth, K. R., Remy, L. L., Byers, V., Muerth, S. A., Hallman, R. C., Summers-Evans, J., & Barker, S. (2023). Perfluoroalkyl substances exposure in firefighters: Sources and implications. Environmental Research, 220, 115164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.115164

Additional Resources