In this study we evaluate the suitability of two methods of RNA conservation in blood samples, PAXgene and RNAlater, in combination with variable shipping conditions for their application in multicenter studies and biobanking. RNA yield, integrity, and purity as well as levels of selected mRNA and microRNA species were analyzed in peripheral human blood samples stabilized by PAXgene or RNAlater and shipped on dry ice or at ambient temperatures from the study centers to the central analysis laboratory. Both examined systems were clearly appropriate for RNA stabilization in human blood independently of the shipping conditions. The isolated RNA is characterized by good quantity and quality and well suited for downstream applications like quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNA and microRNA. Superior yield and integrity values were received using RNAlater. It would be reasonable to consider the production and approval of blood collection tubes prefilled with RNAlater to facilitate the use of this excellent RNA stabilization system in large studies.

The results suggest that an elevated risk for leukemia is restricted to employees with a very long occupational career in underground uranium mining or uranium processing. Moreover, the study does not support the hypothesis of an association between exposure to short-lived radon progeny and leukemia risk.

Like in most industrial countries, asbestos is a leading cause of occupational diseases, especially malignant diseases, in Germany. Following the increased consumption of asbestos after World War I, the recognition of asbestos related diseases developed. At the end of the 1930s, Germany was the first country to accept lung cancer in combination with asbestosis as an occupational disease and to initiate the endeavor for reduction of asbestos dust exposure. Nevertheless after World War II the usage of asbestos increased dramatically. The ban of asbestos first came into force in 1993. Until this time several hundreds of thousands of workers had inhaled asbestos and the number of asbestos related diseases increased. In this review the history and current status on asbestos consumption, asbestos exposure and asbestos related occupational diseases in Germany is presented.

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Today it is uncontested that uranium miners are at increased risk of lung cancer, primarily owing to their exposure to radon. Whether they are also at an increased risk of cancer at other sites, especially in the respiratory tract, remains under discussion. The aim of the present study was to examine the laryngeal cancer risk among uranium miners. An individually matched case-control study of former uranium miners in East Germany was conducted, including 554 cases and 929 controls. Using conditional logistic regression models, a dose-response relationship between the risk of developing a laryngeal cancer and exposure to radon progeny could not be confirmed. Even in miners with a cumulative exposure of at least 1,000 WLM, only a slightly elevated risk could be observed of OR = 1.13 (0.75-1.70)95%. The study does not support the hypothesis of an association between exposure to short-lived radon progeny and laryngeal cancer risk. Moreover, signs are emerging that smoking could explain the moderate excess in laryngeal cancer cases observed in some miner cohorts.