This study estimated the proportion of lung cancer in Greece that was attributable to occupational exposure. 282 patients with lung cancer and 494 controls were interviewed about their socioeconomic characteristics: sex, age, and occupational, smoking, and residential histories. Each subject was classified as exposed or unexposed to known occupational lung carcinogens. Because of the small number of females exposed, only males were included in the multivariate analyses. After adjustment for smoking, the relative risk for lung cancer was 2.9. If 5% to 10% of the Greek population were occupationally exposed, the attributable risk would be 9.9% to 16.6%, respectively. Occupational exposures conferred an additional risk that was approximately threefold that of smoking alone. Risks increased in a dose-response fashion with increasing cigarette consumption.

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