| |

Study Highlights Link Between Mesothelioma Incidence and Ovarian Cancer

ByAlex Strauss
mesothelioma incidence

New research shows ovarian cancer rates are highest in states with the highest mesothelioma incidence. Researchers say it is because both are linked to the carcinogen asbestos.

Scientists have known since as early as the 1950s that asbestos causes cancer. Malignant mesothelioma is the cancer most commonly associated with asbestos exposure. But women with a history of asbestos exposure face a higher risk of ovarian cancer, too. 

The new CDC study is a reminder that a higher mesothelioma incidence is not the only threat from asbestos.

Asbestos and Mesothelioma Incidence

Before asbestos was linked to mesothelioma, it was a popular insulator and building product additive. Most US buildings constructed before the 1980s contain some asbestos. The asbestos in these buildings can still be a threat to workers who repair or remodel them. 

Asbestos was also used in manufacturing, plumbing, electrical work, boilermaking, and shipbuilding. Workers in these industries still have a higher mesothelioma incidence than the general public. 

Once asbestos fibers enter the body, they tend to stay there. Over time, irritation and inflammation from the fibers can turn some cells cancerous. When this happens on a membrane, it can lead to a diagnosis of mesothelioma. 

In the last decade, increasing evidence suggests that asbestos can also cause ovarian cancer. Several long-time talcum powder users have sued Johnson & Johnson after they contracted ovarian cancer.  Talc is at high risk of asbestos contamination because talc and asbestos deposits lie close together in the earth.

Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer by State

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute maintain databases of cancer cases. The new study started with a state-by-state breakdown of mesothelioma incidence and ovarian cancer incidence. 

The lowest mesothelioma rates among the 50 states was 0.5 per 100,000 people. The highest rate was 1.3 cases per 100,000 people. 

Rates of ovarian cancer ranged from 9 to 12 cases per 100,000 women. When researchers compared the two rates by state, a pattern emerged.

“The average ovarian cancer incidence rate was 10% higher in states with the highest mesothelioma incidence than in states with the lowest mesothelioma incidence,” writes lead author S. Jane Henley. 

Protection From Asbestos Reduces Cancer Risk

Dr. Henley and her colleagues conclude that asbestos is likely to be the link between mesothelioma incidence and ovarian cancer incidence. 

Asbestos awareness and prevention campaigns often focus on malignant mesothelioma. But the central message of the new study is that asbestos poses many dangers. 

“Ensuring that people are protected from exposure to asbestos in their workplaces, homes, schools, and communities may reduce the risk of several cancers,” concludes the report. 

Source:

Henley, SJ, et al, “Geographic Co-Occurrence of Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer Incidence”, July 16, 2019, Journal of Women’s Health, Epub ahead of print, https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jwh.2019.7752

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…

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible
|

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible

ByAlex Strauss

An international team of researchers is studying the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells in an effort to improve mesothelioma diagnosis. The team, made up of scientists from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Chile, has just published their findings on a new kind of test to identify protein-derived mesothelioma biomarkers in blood serum. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membranes around organs. Because the most common mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, is also overproduced by other kinds of cancer cells, it has only limited diagnostic value. A test to identify a set of proteins produced specifically by mesothelioma cells could greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. Led by Ferdinando Cerciello and Bernd Wollscheid of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology in…

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…

Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma
| |

Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma researchers in China say a biopsy method that involves a single skin puncture can produce good diagnostic results for mesothelioma patients with little pain or risk. The study focused on percutaneous (through the skin) biopsy in patients who had unexplained fluid buildup or swelling in their abdomens. Abdominal distension and fluid buildup (called ascites) can be signs of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases. Because the symptoms may be vague and often develop many decades after asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma can be especially challenging to diagnose.  Misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis are not uncommon. In the newest study on percutaneous…

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…