Firefighters work hard saving lives, and in process put their own lives at heightened risk from skin, kidney and other types of cancers, a new American Cancer Society (ACS) study finds.

“Although this isn’t favorable news, this study shines a spotlight on the long-term risks firefighters face beyond the immediate dangers of fighting a fire,” said lead author Lauren Teras, the ACS’ senior scientific director of epidemiology research. 

“Continued efforts to safeguard the health of firefighters by increasing access to cancer screening, early detection, and prevention are paramount,” she added in a news release. 

The findings were published July 29 in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The study drew on data from the ACS Cancer Prevention Study-II, which tracked rates of cancer deaths over 36 years for people who were cancer-free when the study began in 1982.

More than 470,000 people enrolled in the study were firefighters, and their rates of cancer death were compared to male participants working in other fields. 

Overall, the study “supports the growing body of research linking occupation as a firefighter to cancer risk,” conclude Teras and her colleagues.  

Risks were highest for skin cancers (a 72% rise in risk among firefighters) and kidney cancer (a 39% higher risk). Smaller hikes in risk were observed for cancers of the lung (8% higher odds), prostate (14%) and colon (15%), the team reported.

According to the researchers, the higher risk for fatal skin cancers might stem from the fact that firefighters are often outside without proper skin protection. Taking better precautions from sun exposure might help protect them, Teras said.  

The slightly higher risk for lung cancer only arose among firefighters who’d been on the the job for 30 or more years, the researchers pointed out. 

Teras noted that a prior study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found evidence that firefighting raises the odds for mesothelioma and bladder cancer, but was inconclusive as to other tumor types.

“Our findings support the growing body of research linking firefighter exposures to cancer risk,” Teras said in an ACS news release. “The associations with skin, kidney, prostate and colorectal cancer notably help to fill gaps for cancers that were considered to have limited or inadequate evidence in the previous IARC review.”