Asbestos fibers in laryngeal tissues. Findings in two patients with asbestosis associated with laryngeal tumors

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos fibers in laryngeal tissues. Findings in two patients with asbestosis associated with laryngeal tumors, by A. Hirsch, J. Bignon, P. Sebastien, et al (Chest, 1979).

The study

• Authors: A. Hirsch, J. Bignon, P. Sebastien, A. Gaudichet
• Journal: Chest
• Published: 1979;76(6):697-9
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 16 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. 002082).

Abstract

Significant concentrations of asbestos fibers have been found in samples of laryngeal tissue from two patients with past exposure to asbestos and associated asbestosis. In one case, there was a polyp on a vocal cord and in the other one a laryngeal carcinoma. These findings could provide an indication of a local carcinogenic effect of asbestos fibers in laryngeal tissue.

In plain English

This report described two cases from France. Both patients were men with past asbestos exposure and asbestosis who had growths in the larynx (voice box). The first, aged 51, had a 70 pack-year smoking history. He had worked in a welding factory as a teenager and as an electric-arc welder from 20 to 40, and a benign polyp was on his right vocal cord. The second, aged 58, had an 80 pack-year smoking history. He had been heavily exposed for two years before World War II in an asbestos cement plant and had laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Electron microscopy found significant amounts of asbestos fibers in normal laryngeal tissue from both men, while light microscopy found no ferruginous bodies in the first man's. In the second man's cancer tissue, only few fibers were found, counted without statistical significance. Laryngeal fibers were mostly chrysotile in the first case and mostly amphibole in the second. The authors suggested fibers can penetrate laryngeal tissue in heavily exposed people and could have a local cancer-causing effect. They said drawing definite conclusions from two cases would be premature.

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: case report of two patients, with measurement of fibers in tissue samples by light microscopy (ferruginous bodies) and transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry
• Who was studied: two men with asbestosis and laryngeal tumors, seen at a hospital in Creteil, France, between 1971 and 1978. Case 1 was 51 years old with a 70 pack-year smoking history and had a benign polyp of the right vocal cord. Case 2 was 58 years old with an 80 pack-year smoking history and had squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.
• Exposure: occupational asbestos exposure, fiber type not specified. Case 1 was exposed at ages 13 to 15 in a welding factory and at ages 20 to 40 as an electric-arc welder. Case 2 had heavy exposure for two years before World War II in an asbestos cement plant.
• Main results:
  • Transmission electron microscopy found asbestos fibers in significant amounts in normal laryngeal tissue from both cases. Light microscopy found no ferruginous bodies in the normal laryngeal tissue of case 1.
  • Only few fibers were found in the carcinoma tissue of case 2.
  • In the sample from the laryngeal carcinoma (case 2), fibers were encountered, but their count was not statistically significant.
  • In laryngeal tissue, case 1's fibers were mostly chrysotile and were shorter and thinner than case 2's fibers, which were mostly amphibole.
  • Thoracic samples from case 1 contained both fiber types, with amphibole predominant.
  • In case 2's sputum, fibers of both types were found, with chrysotile predominant. Amphibole fibers in the sputum were up to 20 microns long and 0.6 microns thick.
  • Because the outer surface of the laryngeal sample had been washed, the authors assumed the fibers were inside the tissue rather than lying on its surface.
  • The authors reported that the fibers inside the larynx did not differ in type and size from those found in lung tissue or sputum.
  • The authors interpreted the measurements as suggesting that asbestos fibers can penetrate laryngeal tissue in people heavily exposed by inhalation.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that these findings could provide an indication of a local carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effect of asbestos fibers in laryngeal tissue.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that drawing any definite conclusion from these two cases would be premature.
  • The authors stated that further studies are needed to define the precise dose-effect relationship.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Throat and laryngeal cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Carcinoma, Carcinogenic.

Related studies

• Asbestosis, laryngeal carcinoma, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in an insulation worker — A. Fischbein, J.C. Luo, et al. (1991)
• Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer and occupational exposure to asbestos and man-made vitreous fibers: results of a case-control study — J.L. Marchand, D. Luce, et al. (2000)
• Asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma — P.M. Stell, T. McGill (1973)
• Current theories for the development of nonsmoking and nondrinking laryngeal carcinoma — R. Wight, V. Paleri, et al. (2003)
• Exposure to asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma — P.M. Stell, T. McGill (1975)
• Laryngeal cancer and asbestos — G. Hillerdal, C.E. Lindholm (1980)

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