Introduction:

Beryllium is an element that, due to its physical and chemical characteristics, is used in the manufacturing of different commercial products and the high-tech industry. Laboral exposure to beryllium is associated with higher incidence of lung cancer, being this disease the leading cause of cancer death worldwide.

Objectives:

To review the existing scientific literature on the occurrence of occupational exposure to beryllium and/or its compounds and lung cancer.

Method:

Systematic review of the scientific literature collected in the bibliographic databases MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, Web Of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Spanish Bibliographic Index in Health Sciences (IBECS), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Medicine in Spanish (MEDES). The terms used as descriptors were: “Occupational Exposure”, “Occupational Diseases”, “Beryllium” and “Lung Neoplasms”. The search was completed with other terms in free text and no filters (limits) were used. The determination of the quality of the selected articles was carried out using the STROBE guide.

Results:

180 references were retrieved, of which 11 articles could be obtained in full text after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These studies describe the association between occupational exposure to beryllium and the development of lung cancer.

Conclusions:

There is an association between exposure to beryllium and/or its compounds and the development of lung cancer. However, considering the low number of published studies and their limitations, further studies should be carried out, which may be adapted to the current circumstances of the beryllium industry, taking into account the solubility of the beryllium compounds and the identification of industries and populations of workers exposed to beryllium that have not yet been studied.