IARC scientist receives award in international hackathon on “End tobacco use for beating cancer”

Dr Ann Olsson, a scientist in the Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), received an award from the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) for her innovative proposal to prevent cancer among workers who have the highest risk of disease. Dr Olsson was awarded the prize for her work during an international hackathon event focused on the theme “End tobacco use for beating cancer”. The hackathon took place on 3–4 December and was hosted by ENSP.

Dr Olsson’s proposal specifically targets individuals who smoke tobacco and are employed in jobs where there is a high risk of exposure to occupational carcinogens. The proposal is underpinned by research from the IARC-coordinated SYNERGY project, a pooled analysis of case–control studies on the joint effects of occupational carcinogens in the development of lung cancer. Dr Olsson and her colleagues in the SYNERGY project have observed joint effects between many occupational exposures (e.g. asbestos, silica, and diesel) and tobacco smoking.

Workers should be informed that their risk of developing lung cancer from tobacco smoking increases substantially when they are exposed to occupational carcinogens. The award-winning proposal outlines key activities, such as identifying the workers concerned, communicating effectively, and – most importantly – overcoming resistance to authoritative information.

Such a project would require a multidisciplinary team, because no single discipline could address all of the facets effectively and suitably measure the impact of different targeted information campaigns.

Read more about the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention 

Read more about the hackathon