While it is widely understood that both lifestyle factors and environmental exposures contribute to the development of cancer, prevention efforts continue to focus primarily on changing personal behaviors. Smoking is at the top of this list.
In its 2010 report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, the U.S. President’s Cancer Panel stated: “The burgeoning number and complexity of known or suspected environmental carcinogens compel us to act to protect public health, even though we may lack irrefutable proof of harm.”
In this webinar, Dr. Douglas Myers and Dr. David Kriebel addressed this cancer prevention question in the context of lung cancer drivers. They presented details of their recent study examining how reducing air pollution could lower lung cancer rates as much as smoking cessation. This work examines how much the 12 types of smoking-related cancer would still occur if smoking were eliminated. They also researched what kinds of environmental sources would be responsible for keeping lung cancer rates high after smoking had been eliminated.
The discussion was moderated by Andre Green, Associate Director of the Cancer and Environment Network of Southwest Pennsylvania.
Featured Speakers
David Kriebel, ScD is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, which collaborates with industries, government agencies, unions, and community organizations on the redesign of systems of production to make them healthier and more environmentally sound. Dr. Kriebel’s research focuses on the epidemiology of occupational injuries, cancer, and non-malignant respiratory disease. He has published more than 130 peer reviewed articles and co-authored two textbooks. He has won numerous teaching awards for his courses in epidemiology and biostatistics as well as occupational and environmental health, and in 2023 he received the EPICOH Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of occupational and environmental health. He also frequently speaks to community groups and participates in advisory committees on the role of science in democratic decision making, particularly in cancer prevention. He received his doctorate in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Douglas Myers, ScD is an epidemiologist and professor in the School of Public and Population Health at Boise State University. He is a graduate of the Work Environment Department at the University of Massachusetts. For over twenty years he has done research on occupational injuries and workplace violence, and has examined cultural factors at work that affect these outcomes. More recently, his research interests include environmental exposures to cancers, especially lung cancer. He also has a Master’s degree in Sociology and often combines his sociological training with his epidemiologic research.