Asbestos-related malignancy

Journal Article · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Curr. Probl. Cancer; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-0272(88)80005-9· OSTI ID:6274501

Talcott, J A; Antman, K H

Asbestos-associated malignancies have received significant attention in the lay and medical literature because of the increasing frequency of two asbestos-associated tumors, lung carcinoma and mesothelioma; the wide distribution of asbestos; its status as a prototype environmental carcinogen; and the many recent legal compensation proceedings, for which medical testimony has been required. The understanding of asbestos-associated carcinogenesis has increased through study of animal models, human epidemiology, and, recently, the application of modern molecular biological techniques. However, the detailed mechanisms of carcinogenesis remain unknown. A wide variety of malignancies have been associated with asbestos, although the strongest evidence for a causal association is confined to lung cancer and mesothelioma. Epidemiological studies have provided evidence that both the type of asbestos fiber and the industry in which the exposure occurs may affect the rates of asbestos-associated cancers. It has been shown that asbestos exerts a carcinogenic effect independent of exposure to cigarette smoking that, for lung cancers, is synergistically enhanced by smoking. Other questions remain controversial, such as whether pulmonary fibrosis necessarily precedes asbestos-associated lung cancer and whether some threshold level of exposure to asbestos (including low-dose exposures that may occur in asbestos-associated public buildings) may be safe. Mesothelioma, the most closely asbestos-associated malignancy, has a dismal natural history and has been highly resistant to therapy. However, investigational multi-modality therapy may offer benefit to some patients. 179 references.

• Research Organization: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6274501
• Journal Information: Curr. Probl. Cancer; (United States), Journal Name: Curr. Probl. Cancer; (United States) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 12:3; ISSN CPRCD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOLS
ASBESTOS
BODY
CARCINOGENESIS
COLLOIDS
DISEASES
DISPERSIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
LUNGS
NEOPLASMS
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
REVIEWS
SMOKES
SOLS
SYNERGISM
TOBACCO SMOKES
TOXICITY