Blood Cancer Journal (Aug 2022)

Myeloma precursor disease (MGUS) among rescue and recovery workers exposed to the World Trade Center disaster

  • Rachel Zeig-Owens,
  • David G. Goldfarb,
  • Benjamin J. Luft,
  • Xiaohua Yang,
  • Kazunori Murata,
  • Lakshmi Ramanathan,
  • Katie Thoren,
  • Sital Doddi,
  • Urvi A. Shah,
  • Alexandra K. Mueller,
  • Charles B. Hall,
  • Orsi Giricz,
  • Amit Verma,
  • David J. Prezant,
  • Ola Landgren

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41408-022-00709-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 8
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract An elevated risk of myeloma precursor disease, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), was identified among Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed firefighters. Further investigation was needed to determine if these findings were reproducible in a more heterogeneous WTC-exposed rescue/recovery workers cohort, the Stony Brook University-General Responder Cohort GRC (SBU-GRC). MGUS risk was compared between the cohorts and to published general population estimates from Olmsted County, MN, USA. In this observational seroprevalence study, odds ratios (OR) and age-standardized risk ratios (RR) of MGUS (M-spike and light-chain-MGUS combined), M-spike, and light-chain-MGUS were estimated using logistic regression. Age-standardized prevalences were calculated for white males aged 50–79; RRs were estimated by comparing risk in the WTC-exposed cohort with the Olmsted County screened cohort. SBU-GRC had elevated odds of MGUS compared with FDNY (OR = 1.38; 95%CI = 1.00–1.89). The age-standardized prevalence of MGUS was 9.0/100 persons (95%CI = 7.5–10.6), over two-fold higher than the general population (RR = 2.08; 95%CI = 1.72–2.51); the age-standardized prevalence of light-chain-MGUS was 3.5-fold higher (RR = 3.54; 95%CI = 2.52–4.97). This study adds to mounting evidence supporting an association between WTC/environmental exposures and MGUS among rescue/recovery workers. Access to MGUS screenings for the entire WTC-exposed cohort could allow for treatment interventions that improve survival.