World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed rescue/recovery workers have an increased risk for the myeloma precursor disease monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), according to a study published in Blood Cancer Journal. Rachel Zeig-Owens, DrPH, and colleagues examined whether the elevated risk for MGUS, identified
among Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) WTC-exposed firefighters, was reproducible in a more heterogeneous WTC-exposed rescue/recovery workers cohort, the Stony Brook University-General Responder Cohort (SBUGRC). The ORs and age-standardized risk ratios of MGUS (M-spike and light-chain-MGUS combined), M-spike, and light-chain-MGUS were estimated. Compared with the FDNY, the SBU-GRC had elevated odds of MGUS (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.00-1.89). The age-standardized prevalence of MGUS was 9.0 per 100 persons,
which was elevated more than two-fold compared with the general population. The age-standardized prevalence of light-chain MGUS was increased 3.5-fold. “If improved survival among MGUS-screened cohorts is demonstrated, the important findings from our current study provide evidence that screening of WTC-exposed cohorts should be recommended,” Dr. Zeig-Owens and team wrote.

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