A community and academic partnership may provide effective education about the risks of radon, testing for radon, mitigating radon in homes with high levels of the chemical, and reducing the risk of developing lung cancer among Native community members residing in Wisconsin, according to new findings presented by LoConte et al at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 44).
Background
“Radon exposure increases the risk of lung cancer, yet many homes remain untested, especially within Native communities,” stressed Fumiko Chino, MD, a radiation oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Study Methods and Results
In the new study, researchers distributed a total of 85 radon testing kits to members of the Stockbridge-Munsee community as part of the partnership between a tribal health clinic and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. It was suspected that 10% of the tested homes would have high levels of radon.
After all of the testing kits were returned, the researchers found that 55.3% (n = 47) of them tested positive for high radon in the home, with levels far higher than the average home in Wisconsin. The average radon level among homes that tested high in the Native community was 11.9 pCi/L. The highest test result was 111.6 pCi/L—which was over 25 times higher than the recommended exposure level.
All of the homes with high radon levels had professional radon mitigation completed as part of the study, and the researchers trained a Native community member in radon mitigation. The participants stated that they would not have been able to pay for the radon mitigation on their own.
“This community/academic partnership was successful at radon mitigation in Native communities, where potentially harmful radon was found in 55% of tested homes—some of which had dangerously high levels commensurate to the risk of smoking more than a pack of cigarettes per day,” Dr. Chino revealed.
Conclusions
“Our study demonstrates the importance of cancer centers in their local communities. By partnering with the Stockbridge-Munsee people, it was possible to address structural determinants of health that lead to health disparities,” highlighted senior study author Michael S. Lundin, MD, Medical Director at the Stockbridge-Munsee Health and Wellness Center.
The researchers hope to expand their radon testing program to other Native communities in Wisconsin.
“We successfully increased knowledge of radon in this community, and more importantly, they could not have afforded the radon mitigation without our project’s support. This community had noted higher rates of cancer among their people for many generations and expressed concern that their land was poisoning them. They were correct,” concluded lead study author Noelle LoConte, MD, FASCO, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Disclosure: The research in this study was funded by the Marriott Daughters Foundation, Catalent Foundation, and the Garding Against Cancer Fund at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit meetings.asco.org.
