Asbestos bodies and mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos bodies and mesothelioma, by J. Stumphius, P.B. Meyer (The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 1968).

The study

• Authors: J. Stumphius, P.B. Meyer
• Journal: The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• Published: 1968;11(4):283-93
• Cited by: 30 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001467).

Abstract

The relation between exposure to asbestos and the occurrence of neoplasia is reviewed and it is concluded that the increasing use of asbestos will result in an increasing incidence of tumours. It is known that inhalation of asbestos fibres results in the formation of asbestos bodies in the lungs. Typical asbestos initiated tumours-pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma-were found at an unusually high frequency in shipyard-workers. Only slight asbestos exposure had taken place in these cases. On the other hand the persons involved had been exposed to high concentrations of iron oxide (flame cutters and welders). Objects similar to asbestos bodies were found in their lungs. Originally it was thought that these were pseudo asbestos bodies, containing an iron oxide core, and it was suspected that pseudo asbestos bodies might play a part in the genesis of the tumours. Investigations carried out at TNO institutes showed that the kernel of the bodies contained asbestos of the amphibole type thus proving that they were not pseudo but normal asbestos bodies. The simultaneous exposure to low concentrations of asbestos and high concentrations of iron oxide raises the suspicion that iron oxide might be an important cofactor in the genesis of mesothelioma found in the shipyard-workers. Experiments with different types of asbestos and iron oxide, on animals, are considered to be highly desirable in order to verify or disprove this hypothesis.

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

In plain English

This article combined a review of earlier research with findings from the Royal "de Schelde" shipyard in Flushing, the Netherlands. A yard worker who died after an accident had numerous asbestos bodies and iron oxides in the lungs, without fibrosis. Sputum from yard workers was then screened. Asbestos bodies were found in 147 of 247 samples, ranging from 65 of 87 in shipbuilding to 8 of 32 in administration, and in 22 of 24 insulators. Over three years from 1964, 21 pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas were recorded in the province of Zeeland, and 17 of these patients had worked at the yard. All post-mortems showed asbestos bodies in the lungs without asbestosis. Nearly all cases had been exposed to iron oxides. Electron diffraction identified the cores of eight asbestos bodies as amphibole asbestos. Of 27 loose fibres, 17 were chrysotile and 10 were amphibole. The authors concluded that the amphiboles may have caused the tumours. They cautioned that only a few determinations had been made, and they called for animal research on amphiboles and iron oxides.

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: Literature review combined with a descriptive report of findings in shipyard workers (sputum screening, mesothelioma cases) and laboratory analysis of asbestos bodies by electron diffraction and X-ray microanalysis
• Who was studied: Workers of the Royal "de Schelde" shipyard in Flushing, the Netherlands (more than 3100 employed at end of 1967): 247 sputum samples screened over 4 years, 24 insulators, 180 welders, and 21 mesothelioma cases in the province of Zeeland from 1964 over the following three years, plus asbestos bodies extracted from post-mortem lungs
• Exposure: Mainly heavy iron oxide exposure from welding and flame cutting, with slight asbestos exposure. Ship insulation used chrysotile felt and an injected mixture of cement, chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite, which the authors state was never applied by shipyard employees.
• Main results:
  • In a yard worker who died after an accident, the pathologist found numerous asbestos bodies and amorphous iron oxides in the lungs, with no fibrosis
  • Of 247 sputum samples from yard workers, 147 contained asbestos bodies (53.5%)
  • Shipbuilding department: 65 of 87 sputum samples (75%) contained asbestos bodies
  • Administration: 8 of 32 sputum samples (25%) contained asbestos bodies
  • Among 24 insulators, 22 (92 per cent) had asbestos bodies in their sputum
  • Of the 21 mesothelioma cases in Zeeland, 17 had worked in the same shipyard
  • All mesothelioma cases were 60 or older, and nearly all had been exposed to iron oxides
  • In all post-mortems, asbestos bodies were found in the lungs, with no fibrosis or asbestosis
  • Examination of 180 welders in the yard found no significant decrease in lung function and no asbestosis on X-ray
  • Electron diffraction identified the core of eight asbestos bodies
  • The cores of the asbestos bodies were an amphibole type of asbestos
  • Of 27 uncoated fibres in the sample, 17 were chrysotile and 10 were amphibole (probably crocidolite)
  • X-ray microanalyzer readings came mainly from the iron-rich protein coat, not from the fibre itself
  • In all cases investigated, the core of supposed pseudo-asbestos bodies proved to be asbestos
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, although asbestos exposure in the Flushing mesothelioma cases had never been great, the amphiboles found in the asbestos bodies may have caused the tumours. They also considered the existence of pseudo-asbestos bodies extremely doubtful.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Only a limited number of determinations had been made, so the authors considered definite conclusions premature
  • The role of amphiboles and iron oxides in causing mesothelioma was not examined and, the authors state, must be studied in animals
  • Two further suspected mesothelioma cases had not been pathologically proved
  • Asbestos exposure of the workers cannot be entirely ruled out

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Bodies, Mesothelioma, Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Amphibole Group.

Related studies

• Ferruginous bodies and the histologic evaluation of dust exposure — E. Crouch, A. Churg (1984)
• Asbestos bodies in routine necropsies on Tyneside: a pathological and social study — T. Ashcroft (1968)
• Pulmonary mineral dust. A study of ninety patients by electron microscopy, electron microanalysis, and electron microdiffraction — J.P. Berry, P. Henoc, et al. (1976)
• Iron associated with asbestos bodies is responsible for the formation of single strand breaks in phi X174 RFI DNA — L.G. Lund, M.G. Williams, et al. (1994)
• A simple method for preparing ferruginous bodies for electron microscopic examination — A. Churg, N. Sakoda, et al. (1977)
• Asbestos bodies or fibers and the diagnosis of asbestosis — M.L. Warnock, G. Wolery (1987)

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