The Lungs: Asbestos, Smoking, and Mesothelioma
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The Lungs: Asbestos, Smoking, and Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Scientists in Japan published a study about how asbestos fibers interact with the lungs when they are inhaled by someone. This study, published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, explored “asbestos ferruginous bodies” (AFBs). When asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs, the body forms an iron-rich coat around the fibers. These coated asbestos fibers become AFBs. Mesothelioma after Asbestos Exposure When people inhale asbestos fibers, they can develop an aggressive cancer called malignant pleural mesothelioma. This cancer grows in the lining of the lungs and chest wall. It can often take around 40 years for malignant pleural mesothelioma to begin to grow after asbestos exposure. Imaging studies such as X-rays or CT scans may help in the diagnosis, but the…

How Much Asbestos Can Cause Mesothelioma?
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How Much Asbestos Can Cause Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Avoid exposure to asbestos – especially if you are a smoker. That is the central message in an article by two Dutch cancer researchers who have some good news and some bad news about the link between asbestos exposure and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pulmonologists Dr. Paul Baas and Dr. JA Burgers of AVL/NKI Cancer Center in Amsterdam analyzed a study of 58,279 Dutch construction workers from 1986 to 2007. The study, published by Offermans et al in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, confirmed what past research has found – that the risk of lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and mesothelioma increased as asbestos exposure increased. “The risk of development of…