IL6 and lung cancer: Association between IL6 promoter SNPs and latency in miners with squamous cell carcinoma. The median of latency (19 years) in the 162 miners with squamous cell carcinoma was comparable to that seen for a large group of underground uranium miners (18.9 years, n = 505) from the United States who were either current smokers or had quit smoking < 10 years when diagnosed with lung cancer (Archer et al. 2004).