Asbestos Raises Mesothelioma Risk, Regardless of Type

ByAlex Strauss
asbestos raises mesothelioma risk

A new report led by the National Cancer Institute offers further evidence that every type of asbestos raises mesothelioma risk. 

Scientists have known since the 1950s that asbestos is the main cause of mesothelioma. But some have argued that not all types of asbestos are equally dangerous.

The new study refutes that idea. Researchers compared outcomes from people exposed to different kinds of asbestos. They conclude that asbestos raises mesothelioma risk, regardless of type. 

Asbestos as a Carcinogen

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. It has to be mined from the ground. Asbestos is strong, cheap, and impervious to heat and chemical erosion. It was a popular additive to many products before doctors realized that asbestos raises mesothelioma risk.

The most common types of asbestos are white (chrysotile), brown, (amosite), or blue (crocidolite). The different types have fibers of slightly different shapes and lengths. Chrysotile is the type most frequently used in industry. 

Workers who inhaled or swallowed asbestos dust have higher rates of lung cancer and mesothelioma. The US Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer all agree that asbestos raises mesothelioma risk.

Which Asbestos Raises Mesothelioma Risk?

Scientists know that asbestos causes cancer. The goal of the new study was to see if some types of asbestos are more dangerous than others. 

The NCI researchers used occupational data on 508 workers. Some of the workers had a history of asbestos exposure. A total of 176 of them developed malignant mesothelioma. 

Some workers only worked with chrysotile asbestos. Others worked with a mix of different asbestos fibers. Researchers analyzed which workers got mesothelioma and what kinds of asbestos they worked with. 

They found that chrysotile asbestos raises mesothelioma risk by itself. A mix of different kinds of asbestos carried a slightly higher risk. People with no asbestos exposure had the lowest risk for mesothelioma. 

“Our findings suggest that policies aimed at regulating asbestos should target both pure chrysotile and mixtures that include amphibole,” writes lead author Jason Wong in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Even though asbestos raises mesothelioma risk, it is not banned in the US. The EPA passed the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule in 1989 but the ruling was overturned in 1991. 

Many consumer products can still legally contain trace amounts of asbestos. In addition, most homes and buildings built before 1980 contain asbestos. Disturbing these fibers during remodeling or demolition can put workers at risk for mesothelioma decades later. 

Sources:

Wong, J, et all, “Mesothelioma risk among those exposed to chrysotile asbestos only and mixtures that include amphibole: a case-control study in the USA, 1975-1980”, October 21, 2020, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, https://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2020/10/21/oemed-2020-106665

Similar Posts

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools
|

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

ByAlex Strauss

A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma
| |

Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists at one of the world’s top mesothelioma research centers, the Asbestos Diseases Research institute in Sydney, Australia, say that restoring the expression of certain micro RNAs in the cells of mesothelioma patients may offer a new way to fight the disease. A microRNA is a small RNA molecule which is involved in the regulation of gene expression. According to a new report in the Annals of Oncology, the Australian scientists found reduced expression of the micro RNA-15 family (miR-15/16) in the cells of mice with mesothelioma. “When malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines were compared with the normal mesothelial cell line MeT-5A, the downregulation of miR-15/16 was 2- to 10-fold,” they report. This finding is consistent with previous cancer research…

Mesothelioma Claims Another American Actor
|

Mesothelioma Claims Another American Actor

ByAlex Strauss

Another American actor has died of malignant mesothelioma. Veteran character actor Ed Lauter, who worked with such prominent names as Clint Eastwood, George C. Scott, Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise, died this week in Los Angeles. According to the Associated Press, one of Lauter’s most notable roles was that of a prison guard in the 1974 Burt Reynolds film “The Longest Yard”. He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Family Plot”, “Born on the Fourth of July” with Tom Cruise, and most recently played a butler in the 2011 Oscar-winning film “The Artist”. Lauter’s television appearances included “The Office”, “ER”, “Murder She Wrote” and “The Rockford Files”. Although little is being said about the origin of Lauter’s mesothelioma, an aggressive…

Last Man Sentenced in Asbestos Dumping Scheme
|

Last Man Sentenced in Asbestos Dumping Scheme

ByAlex Strauss

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that a New Jersey man will spend 15 months in prison for his part in a scheme to illegally dump thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris – putting others at risk for mesothelioma. He was the last person to be sentenced in the conspiracy. Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma, a difficult to treat and aggressive cancer.  At the height of its popularity from the 1940s to the early 1970s, asbestos was common in building products ranging from floor and ceiling tiles to joint compound, concrete and shingles. It is still present in tens of thousands of older homes and buildings today. In an effort to protect workers and the public from mesothelioma…

Mesothelioma Case Shows Danger of Accidental Asbestos Exposure
|

Mesothelioma Case Shows Danger of Accidental Asbestos Exposure

ByAlex Strauss

A mesothelioma case in Birmingham, England is a dramatic illustration of the very real danger of hidden asbestos. The widow of a physician who died of mesothelioma last year at the age of 51 claims her husband was exposed to asbestos just walking to and from his medical classes. Monisha Coelho believes that exposed asbestos insulation in the underground hallways that connect the University of Birmingham to buildings on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital campus triggered Dr. Ian Pardoe’s mesothelioma. In an article in the Birmingham Mail, Coelho explained how her husband decided how and where the deadly exposure had occurred. “Ian thought long and hard about where he might have come into contact with asbestos,” Coelho told the paper. “He…

Aspirin Derivative No Match for Mesothelioma
| |

Aspirin Derivative No Match for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

It may work wonders for aches and pains but apparently the ‘wonder drug’ is no match for the asbestos-linked cancer, malignant mesothelioma. A number of previous studies have suggested a benefit from aspirin for some types of cancer. But Italian scientists testing the aspirin derivative [2-acetoxy-(2-propynyl) benzoate] hexacarbonyldicobalt (Co-ASS) and its analogue hexacarbonyl [μ-(2-ethylphenyl) methanol] dicobalt (Co-EPM) against malignant pleural mesothelioma cells found that both molecules function better as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) agents than as anti-tumor drugs. The researchers tested Co-ASS and Co-EPM against mesothelioma cells of both the more common epithelioid and rarer sarcomatoid types. The most encouraging results were seen with the sarcomatoid cells. Against this cell type, Co-ASS was found to be more potent than either Co-EPM or…