|
|
||||||||
Historical Article |
Primary malignant mesothelial tumours were recognized by pathologists before asbestiform minerals (chrysotile, crocidolite and amosite) were mined commercially. The discovery, 40 yrs ago, of a causal link with crocidolite and the wide-ranging epidemiological studies which followed are the subject of this review. Early case-control and descriptive surveys, supplemented by cohort studies in insulation workers and chrysotile miners, quickly demonstrated major occupational and geographical differences, with high risk in naval dockyard areas and in the heating trades. In the 1980s, reliable cohort surveys showed that in mining and in the manufacture of asbestos products the mesothelioma risk was much higher when exposure included crocidolite or amosite than chrysotile alone. However, qualitative and quantitative information on exposure was too often inadequate for this evidence to be conclusive. Well-controlled lung fibre analyses have reduced these deficiencies and demonstrated the probable implications of the greater biopersistence of amphibole fibres. Chrysotile for industrial use often contains low concentrations of fibrous tremolite, which may well explain the few cases of mesothelioma associated with this type of asbestos. Progress in this field has been much retarded by controversy, for which the 20 year gap between the availability of reliable estimates of risk for the mining of chrysotile and that for crocidolite or amosite may have been largely responsible.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C Magnani, D Ferrante, F Barone-Adesi, M Bertolotti, A Todesco, D Mirabelli, and B Terracini Cancer risk after cessation of asbestos exposure: a cohort study of Italian asbestos cement workers Occup. Environ. Med., March 1, 2008; 65(3): 164 - 170. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Goldberg and D. Luce Can Exposure to Very Low Levels of Asbestos Induce Pleural Mesothelioma? Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 15, 2005; 172(8): 939 - 940. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. E. Ramos-Nino, G. Vianale, T. Sabo-Attwood, L. Mutti, C. Porta, N. Heintz, and B. T. Mossman Human mesothelioma cells exhibit tumor cell-specific differences in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT activity that predict the efficacy of Onconase Mol. Cancer Ther., May 1, 2005; 4(5): 835 - 842. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P A Hessel, J F Gamble, and J C McDonald Asbestos, asbestosis, and lung cancer: a critical assessment of the epidemiological evidence Thorax, May 1, 2005; 60(5): 433 - 436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. B. Ilgren Coalinga Chrysotile: A Short Fibre, Amphibole Free, Chrysotile: Part V - Lack of Amphibole Asbestos Contamination Indoor and Built Environment, October 1, 2004; 13(5): 325 - 341. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. W. Cugell and D. W. Kamp Asbestos and the Pleura: A Review Chest, March 1, 2004; 125(3): 1103 - 1117. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. E. Ramos-Nino, L. Scapoli, M. Martinelli, S. Land, and B. T. Mossman Microarray Analysis and RNA Silencing Link fra-1 to cd44 and c-met Expression in Mesothelioma Cancer Res., July 1, 2003; 63(13): 3539 - 3545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S Luo, X Liu, S Mu, S P Tsai, C P Wen, and O. Wong Asbestos related diseases from environmental exposure to crocidolite in Da-yao, China. I. Review of exposure and epidemiological data * COMMENTARY Occup. Environ. Med., January 1, 2003; 60(1): 35 - 42. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. T. Mossman and D. C. Gruenert SV40, Growth Factors, and Mesothelioma . Another Piece of the Puzzle Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., February 1, 2002; 26(2): 167 - 170. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. Yano, Z.-M. Wang, X.-R. Wang, M.-Z. Wang, and Y.-J. Lan Cancer Mortality among Workers Exposed to Amphibole-free Chrysotile Asbestos Am. J. Epidemiol., September 15, 2001; 154(6): 538 - 543. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Camus A ban on asbestos must be based on a comparative risk assessment Can. Med. Assoc. J., February 1, 2001; 164(4): 491 - 494. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. C. Grondin and D. J. Sugarbaker Pleuropneumonectomy in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma* Chest, December 1, 1999; 116(suppl_3): 450S - 454S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. P. Nolan, A. M. Langer, and R. Wilson A risk assessment for exposure to grunerite asbestos (amosite) in an iron ore mine PNAS, March 30, 1999; 96(7): 3412 - 3419. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Churg, H. Demiroglu, R. K. Sokas, E. Costas, A. Garrido, V. J. Goyanes, A. M. Langer, B. W. Case, R. W. Morgan, M. Goodman, et al. Nonoccupational Exposure to Chrysotile Asbestos and the Risk of Lung Cancer N. Engl. J. Med., October 1, 1998; 339(14): 999 - 1002. [Full Text] |
||||
![]() |
E. Ilgren and E. Chatfield Coalinga Fibre - A Short, Amphibole-Free Chrysotile: Part 2: Evidence for Lack of Tumourigenic Activity Indoor and Built Environment, January 1, 1998; 7(1): 18 - 31. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |