Firefighters are at a far higher risk of developing certain cancers than people in many other professions, according to new research. A University of Cincinnati team said exposure to substances such as benzene, chloroform and soot posed a threat. The analysis of 32 US and European studies covering 110,000 firefighters found rates of testicular cancer were 100 per cent higher and prostate cancer 28 per cent higher than expected. There was also a 50 per cent increasing in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma

GK LeMasters and others. Cancer risk among firefighters: A review and meta-analysis of 32 studies. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 48, number 11, pages 1189-1202, November 2006.