Lung cancer mortality in the European uranium miners cohorts analyzed with a biologically based model taking into account radon measurement error

The biologically based two-stage clonal expansion (TSCE) model is used to analyze lung cancer mortality of European miners from the Czech Republic, France, and Germany. All three cohorts indicate a highly significant action of exposure to radon and its progeny on promotion. The action on initiation is not significant in the French cohort. An action on transformation was tested but not found significant. In a pooled analysis, the results based on the French and German datasets do not differ significantly in any of the used parameters. For the Czech dataset, only lag time and two parameters that determine the clonal expansion without exposure and with low exposure rates (promotion) are consistent with the other studies. For low exposure rates, the resulting relative risks are quite similar. Exposure estimates for each calendar year are used. A model for random errors in each of these yearly exposures is presented. Depending on the used technique of exposure estimate, Berkson and classical errors are used. The consequences for the model parameters are calculated and found to be mostly of minor importance, except that the large difference in the exposure-induced initiation between the studies is decreased substantially.