Asbestos and stomach cancer in Japan--a connection?

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos and stomach cancer in Japan--a connection?, by E.W. Kiritani (Medical Hypotheses, 1990).

The study

• Author: E.W. Kiritani
• Journal: Medical Hypotheses
• Published: 1990;33(3):159-60
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 003837).

In plain English

This hypothesis article is not a study. The author, who had lived in Japan 8 years, described personal observations, not systematic data. The author reported asbestos panels cut at building sites without dust containment, and asbestos fish grills, bread pans and restaurant cooking surfaces touching food. Three major makers claimed they no longer filtered Japanese rice wine through asbestos; whether other companies did was unclear. Three-fourths of grills in the author's neighborhood stores the previous year were asbestos grills. A government pamphlet claimed over 2,000 asbestos products were sold in Japan. The author cited 1966-67 cancer mortality figures in which stomach cancer comprised 68% of cancers for Japanese males and 34% for females, versus 12% and 3% for USA Caucasians. The author noted asbestos has not been conclusively linked to stomach cancer and the examples were limited to personal knowledge. The author concluded that, until autopsies check stomach and intestine linings of people who die of stomach cancer for asbestos fibers, one should presume there may be "a direct and deadly connection between stomach cancer and asbestos fibers in Japan."

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: Hypothesis article based on the author's personal observations; no systematic data collection or analysis is described
• Who was studied: No study population; the author's observations of asbestos use in Japan (Tokyo), where the author had lived for 8 years
• Exposure: Asbestos (fiber type not specified) in products in direct contact with food: fish grills, bread pans, meat cooked on asbestos in yakitoriyas (bars), and individual asbestos hibachis in restaurants. Asbestos filters had been used for Japanese rice wine; three major makers claimed to have stopped, and whether other companies still used them was unclear. The author also described dust from asbestos panels cut at building sites.
• Main results:
  • Three-fourths of the grills displayed in the author's neighborhood stores the previous year were asbestos grills (the author's observation)
  • A government pamphlet cited by the author claimed there were over 2,000 asbestos products being sold in Japan
  • A bread store showed the author its '100% asbestos bread pans'
  • The author observed asbestos panels being cut at building sites with no attempt to contain the dust
  • Three major Japanese makers claimed they no longer used asbestos to filter rice wine; whether other companies still used asbestos filters was unclear
  • Background figures the author cited from an earlier report (Segi and Kurihara, published 1972), not data from this article: the author introduced them as 1966-67 cancer mortality rates per 100,000 people, and stated that stomach cancer comprised 68% of cancers for males and 34% for females in Japan, versus 12% for males and 3% for females among USA Caucasians
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that, until autopsies check the stomach and intestine linings of people who die of stomach cancer for asbestos fibers, one should presume there may be a direct and deadly connection between stomach cancer and asbestos fibers in Japan
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The examples of asbestos contact with food were limited to the author's personal knowledge
  • The author stated that asbestos has not been conclusively linked to stomach cancer

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Stomach Cancer.

Related studies

• Talc-coated rice as a risk factor for stomach cancer — G.N. Stemmermann, L.N. Kolonel (1978)
• Talc-treated rice and Japanese stomach cancer — R.R. Merliss (1971)
• Analysis of particles in stomach tumours from Japanese males — W.J. Henderson, D.M. Evans, et al. (1975)
• The role of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis: a systematic review including evidence from Japan — T. Kitai (2021)
• Occupational exposures and risk of stomach cancer by histological type — M. Santibañez, J. Alguacil, et al. (2012)
• 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)

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