Journal of the American Medical Association, Asbestosis and Cancer of the Lung (1949)

An unsigned editorial, "Asbestosis and Cancer of the Lung," from the Journal of the American Medical Association of August 13, 1949, with a typed cover sheet. It reported that of 235 deaths from or with asbestosis recorded by Britain's Chief Inspector of Factories from 1924 to 1946, 31 (13.2 per cent) also had cancer of the lung or pleura, against about 1 per cent of all autopsies, and cited a German animal study in which mice breathing asbestos dust developed lung cancers. It concluded that "the occurrence of cancer of the lung is related to pulmonary asbestosis and is not merely a possible sequela of exposure to asbestos dust."

What it shows

The editorial noted that "some 20,000 workers are employed in the asbestos-producing industries of this country and Canada," with many thousands more in industries using asbestos, and called for increased attention to "this probable occupational hazard of cancer of the lung." It suggested that the periodic examinations of exposed workers include tests of bronchial secretions when there were signs of lung cancer, and that every fatal case of asbestosis receive a detailed postmortem examination. Its presence among the Motley documents shows what the medical literature was saying about asbestos and lung cancer by 1949.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

Editorial entitled "Asbestosis and Cancer of the Lung," 8/13/49, which appeared in JAMA. Discusses studies which have been performed re coexistence of asbestosis and lung cancer.

About this copy

This is document 4 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-000361 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-000363.