Analysis of particles in stomach tumours from Japanese males

Our plain-English summary of Analysis of particles in stomach tumours from Japanese males, by W.J. Henderson, D.M. Evans, J.D. Davies, et al (Environmental Research, 1975).

The study

• Authors: W.J. Henderson, D.M. Evans, J.D. Davies, K. Griffiths
• Journal: Environmental Research
• Published: 1975;9(3):240-9
• Cited by: 16 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The particulate material present in stomach tumours removed from Japanese males has been investigated. An extraction-replication technique used in association with electron microscope-microanalysis provided evidence for the presence in the tumour tissue of kaolin, talc, aluminium and calcium silicates and some types of asbestos fibres.

PubMed has no abstract for this study. This is the authors' abstract, copied from the article.

In plain English

This laboratory study examined the particles found in stomach tumour tissue removed from Japanese men aged 47 to 69. The tissue was supplied by Iwate Medical University in Japan, and the results table lists seven cases. The authors used an electron microscope combined with X-ray microanalysis to identify individual particles taken from thin tissue sections. They reported a variety of particles, including kaolin, talc, aluminium silicates, calcium silicates, other silicates and diatomaceous remains. Asbestos fibres of both the chrysotile and amphibole types were found in some of the tumours but not in all of them. The authors could not fully confirm whether the amphibole fibres were crocidolite or amosite. They reported talc crystals in all seven tumour samples. No information was available on the patients' work histories. The authors described the work as a preliminary study. They concluded that amphibole and chrysotile asbestos fibres can be found associated with stomach tumours removed from Japanese males, and that such fine particles may, under particular circumstances, play some role in cancer processes.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Preliminary laboratory study (descriptive case series) analysing particles in tumour tissue by electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis (EMMA-4)
• Who was studied: Stomach tumour tissue (paraffin blocks and formalin samples) from Japanese males aged 47 to 69, supplied by the Department of Surgery, Iwate Medical University, Japan. Seven cases are listed: colloid (mucoid) carcinomas and various adenocarcinomas.
• Exposure: Particulate material found in the tumour tissue, including talc, kaolin, silicates and asbestos fibres (chrysotile and amphibole types). The study was prompted by a published suggestion that talc added to rice might be contaminated with asbestos. No occupational history was available for the patients.
• Main results:
  • A variety of particulate material was found in the series of Japanese stomach tumours, including kaolin, talc, aluminium and calcium silicates, and diatomaceous remains.
  • Asbestos fibres of both the amphibole type and chrysotile were found associated with stomach tumours from Japanese males.
  • Not all of the tumour tissue studied contained asbestos fibres.
  • Talc crystals were identified in all seven tumour tissue samples.
  • Other silicates, some of which could have come from diatomaceous material, were consistently present.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that amphibole-type and chrysotile asbestos fibres can be found associated with stomach tumours from Japanese males. They suggested that the diatomaceous material might come from fish in the diet or from pharmaceutical mixtures, and that fine environmental particles embedded in body tissues may, under particular circumstances, play some role in carcinogenic processes.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The study was preliminary and no occupational history was available for the patients.
  • Crocidolite could not be fully distinguished from amosite because sodium was not detected.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Stomach cancer, Talc and vermiculite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Talc, Silicate.

Related studies

• Talc-treated rice and Japanese stomach cancer — R.R. Merliss (1971)
• Talc-coated rice as a risk factor for stomach cancer — G.N. Stemmermann, L.N. Kolonel (1978)
• Asbestos and stomach cancer in Japan--a connection? — E.W. Kiritani (1990)
• Exposure to nitrosamines, carbon black, asbestos, and talc and mortality from stomach, lung, and laryngeal cancer in a cohort of rubber workers — K. Straif, U. Keil, et al. (2000)
• Talc exposure and risk of stomach cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis of occupational cohort studies — C.J. Chang, Y.K. Tu, et al. (2020)
• Stomach Cancer and Exposure to Talc Powder without Asbestos via Chinese Herbal Medicine: A Population-Based Cohort Study — C.J. Chang, Y.H. Yang, et al. (2019)

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