The topic of asbestos exposure and its link to cancer is vast, primarily because of the various types of cancer that have been adequately linked to asbestos with compelling data. However, one of the types of cancer that still remains unclear in its link to asbestos exposure is prostate cancer. Here’s what you need to know about prostate cancer and asbestos exposure- how they are linked and what contemporary health research shows.
If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related diseases.
Prostate Cancer | Direct Link or a Contributing Factor?
According to the prostate cancer foundation, the prostate is a rubber-like gland inside the groin, about the size of a ping-pong ball. The prostate gland sits right between the bladder and rectum and plays an important role in reproduction, responsible for the supply of seminal fluid. While prostate cancer is largely connected to genetic considerations, exposure to chemical toxins also contributes to the development of prostate cancer.
“The overall evidence suggests there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.”
Source: National Cancer Institute (NIH)1
There is evidence of a link between asbestos exposure and prostate cancer, but understanding it fully requires more research.
The actual correlation between asbestos and prostate cancer is something that the medical community has been studying for multiple decades. During the 1980s and the 1990s, the studies that were conducted to investigate this relationship ended up providing limited evidence that occupational asbestos exposure increased individual male workers’ risk.
In 2003, a large-scale review of cancer rates in the Finnish asbestos industry revealed that employees—male and female alike—were significantly more likely to develop potentially life-threatening diseases than the general population. While this was not directly aimed at investigating prostate cancer, the study did suggest that life-threatening diseases were more readily developed in the bodies of people who were exposed to asbestos long-term. There was no reason to assume that prostate cancer was ruled out of the equation.
How connected is asbestos to prostate cancer? Direct Link vs. Contributing Factor
Arguments for asbestos exposure having a “Direct Link” to prostate cancer
As a known carcinogen, asbestos fits under the category of a chemical toxin. Estimates show that tens of thousands of Americans die from asbestos-related illnesses every year. With this in mind, it is easy to understand why some studies suggest that the data is conclusive in linking prostate cancer to asbestos exposure. At face value, if prostate cancer can be caused by chemical toxins and asbestos is a chemical toxin, it seems like a simple matter of deduction that asbestos does in fact cause prostate cancer.
“Generally, those who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness for a long time after exposure.”
Source: National Cancer Institute (NIH)2
Studies examining a link between asbestos and prostate cancer
Studies that do exist that propose this direct link include two instances: exposure in the home, such as long-term exposure to asbestos-containing insulation material from an early age, and occupational exposure. The data linked to these findings include autopsies of men who were exposed to asbestos in their occupational careers and the discovery of asbestos fibers found in the prostate. A more recent study from 2019 concluded that the issue related to linking asbestos exposure to prostate cancer is the difficulty of a small number of cases. With that in mind, the meta-analysis performed in the study went on to show that there was indeed data to show that such a direct link exists, although it is worth noting that this medical publication was retracted.
Quality over Quantity: While the effects of asbestos exposure on other diseases like lung cancer have been studied more fully, research on a link between asbestos and prostate cancer cannot be easily dismissed.
Regardless, the main arguments made for a direct link between asbestos exposure and prostate cancer have to do with the fact that evidence does exist, just not to the degree of evidence available regarding other types of cancer linked to asbestos such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer.
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Arguments for asbestos being a “Contributing Factor” to prostate cancer.
However, the arguments against a direct link between prostate cancer and asbestos exposure are not based on a dismissal of any relationship between the two. In fact, it seems that all available studies related to asbestos exposure and prostate cancer agree that there is a connection between the two. The difference is, whether that connection can be proven to be a direct link.
Since it is still debated whether this direct link exists, many studies will instead emphasize that asbestos exposure is a contributing factor or an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. In fact, this point is often accompanied by encouragement for those who have been exposed to asbestos to undergo prostate cancer screenings more regularly.
“Some asbestos fibers may bypass…your body’s natural defenses…and lodge deep within your lungs. Those fibers can remain in place for a very long time and may never be removed.”
Source: American Lung Association
What is especially noteworthy from these studies is the fact that regarding prostate cancer risks, the part of the body most commonly identified as the absorption point in asbestos exposure in studies is the respiratory system. This point might come as a surprise because while the link between asbestos and respiratory illnesses has been established since the 1920s, the respiratory system is not regularly associated with the prostate gland.
Asbestos fibers can migrate from the lungs to other parts of the body.
However, in 2009 the American College of Chest Physicians investigated the occurrence of asbestos infiltration. This investigation was the bodily examination of 37 people who died from various asbestos-related pulmonary disorders. The doctors concluded that when asbestos fibers or residue were located in the lungs, they were regularly present in other bodily organs, including prostate glands.
While this was not the case in all 37 examinations, it certainly suggested that asbestos exposure was a contributing factor to asbestos fibers being present in prostate glands. Over time, these fibers could contribute to the development of prostate cancer.
Medical Signs of Asbestos Exposure
Since there exists a link between the development of prostate cancer and exposure to asbestos taking place in the lungs, it is vital to understand the symptoms of asbestos illness, even if those symptoms seem to have no relation to the prostate. If you are concerned about the possibility of asbestos exposure, you should pay special attention to symptoms of lung exposure, such as shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs, chest pain, dry cough, or a crackling sound when breathing.
While there still remains a need for ongoing research in order to properly link prostate cancer and other types of cancer directly to exposure to asbestos, there is enough data to cause us to take this correlation seriously. The fact that all available data points to the certainty that asbestos poses an increased risk of prostate cancer should remind us that we are still uncovering the depths of asbestos’ many dangers. Unfortunately, the more we learn about this mineral, the more widespread its risk factors become.
1 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
2 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
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This post is news and commentary, provided for general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.