Risk of cancer in relation to natural radiation, including radon: Evidence from epidemiological studies

A review of recently published epidemiological studies on populations exposed to natural background ionizing radiation is proposed. The advantages and disadvantages of different types of epidemiological studies as well as the uncertainty linked to multiple exposures are discussed. As radon is the greatest source of natural radiation, particular attention is given to quantification of risk obtained through cohort studies of uranium miners and after joint analysis of case-control studies oil lung cancer and residential radon.