9/11 Responder Study Inconclusive on Work Link to Cancer Cases

Dr. JACQUELINE MOLINE: Age group is alarming.

A study by the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that a small number of law-enforcement responders who worked at Ground Zero have developed cancer, but not enough to prove that there is a link between their illnesses and exposure at the site.

Too Young to Have Disease'

In the study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 28,252 9/11 responders were tested and eight were found to have multiple myeloma. That is the expected number; however, four of those people were under the age 45, a statistical abnormality.

"You shouldn't be seeing so many cases of myeloma in younger folks," center director Dr. Jacqueline Moline told the Associated Press, adding that the median age for developing such a cancer is 71.

She noted, "What we are trying to get out there is: Be alert."

In a joint statement, four U.S. Congress Members from New York—Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Peter King and Michael McMahon—who are sponsoring a bill that would secure permanent funding for 9/11 health monitoring and treatment reacted to the study in a statement.

"The fact that the authors of this cancer study say the results are inconclusive only reinforces the urgent need for an established, long-term monitoring program for 9/11 responders and treatment for illnesses that result from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero," it said. "We need to act now to put in place a strong permanent program to protect the health of our brave responders and community members."

Health experts have noted that respiratory ailments and mental conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder are prevalent among 9/11 rescue and recovery workers and lower Manhattan residents.