Asbestos: Modern Insights for Toxicology in the Era of Engineered Nanomaterials

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos: Modern Insights for Toxicology in the Era of Engineered Nanomaterials, by E. Felley-Bosco, M. MacFarlane (Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2018).

The study

• Authors: E. Felley-Bosco, M. MacFarlane
• Journal: Chemical Research in Toxicology
• Published: 2018;31(10):994-1008
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Asbestos fibers are naturally occurring silicates that have been extensively used in the past, including house construction, but because of their toxicity, their use has been banned in 63 countries. Despite this, more than one million metric tons of asbestos are still consumed annually in countries where asbestos use has not been banned. Asbestos-related disease incidence is still increasing in several countries, including those countries that banned the use of asbestos more than 30 years ago. We highlight here recent knowledge obtained in experimental models about the mechanisms leading to tumor development following asbestos exposure, including genetic and epigenetic changes. Importantly, the landscape of alterations observed experimentally in tumor samples is consistent with alterations observed in clinical tumor samples; therefore, studies performed on early/precancer stages should help inform secondary prevention, which remains crucial in the absence of an efficient primary prevention. Knowledge gathered on asbestos should also help address future challenges, especially in view of the increased production of new materials that may behave similarly to asbestos fibers.

In plain English

This article is a perspective, a type of narrative review, not a new study. The authors summarized published information on asbestos use, asbestos-related disease, and how asbestos may lead to malignant pleural mesothelioma. They compared this with research on engineered nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes. Citing other sources, they reported that asbestos production and consumption peaked in 1980 at about 4.8 million metric tons, and that asbestos is banned in 63 countries. They described other researchers' analyses of tumor samples. These found genetic changes in the region containing CDKN2A in 82% of human mesotheliomas, and NF2 mutations in 40% of human malignant pleural mesotheliomas. They also described an animal study in which long multiwalled carbon nanotubes injected into the chest cavity led to pleural disease including mesothelioma. The authors concluded that changes seen in experimental tumors are consistent with those in patients' tumors. They added that early tumor detection is a priority but biomarkers for it are still missing, and that asbestos and new fiber-like materials remain a threat to health. They noted that lung disease from carbon nanotube exposure has not been widely studied in people.

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: Perspective (narrative review) of published experimental, clinical-sample and disease-statistics literature; no new data collected
• Who was studied: No study population of its own; the authors reviewed published information on asbestos exposure and on mechanisms of mesothelioma development from experimental models and clinical tumor samples
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, including amphiboles (crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, anthophyllite, actinolite) and chrysotile; also engineered nanomaterials, especially multiwalled carbon nanotubes
• Main results:
  • Citing other sources, the authors reported that annual world asbestos production and consumption peaked in 1980 at about 4.8 million metric tons
  • The authors reported that asbestos use is banned in 63 countries
  • Citing the Global Burden of Disease, the authors gave an estimate of 3495 asbestosis deaths worldwide (determined in 2016)
  • Citing a published study, genetic alterations in the region including CDKN2A and CDKN2B were found in 82% and 76% of human mesotheliomas, and in 56% and 60% of experimental mouse mesotheliomas
  • Citing published studies, mutations in NF2 were found in 40% of human malignant pleural mesotheliomas
  • Citing an animal study (Chernova et al.), long and short multiwalled carbon nanotubes were compared for up to 18 months after injection into the pleural space; long-fiber nanotubes showed length-dependent pathogenicity and pleural disease including mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that changes seen in experimental tumors are consistent with those in clinical tumor samples, and that secondary prevention (early tumor detection) is a priority. They suggested that mechanistic studies using standardized benchmark asbestos alongside newer materials of potential concern are still necessary.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors noted that biomarkers for early detection of mesothelioma are still missing
  • The authors noted that mesothelioma is underreported in some countries
  • The authors noted that lung disease from carbon nanotube exposure has not been widely studied in humans
  • The authors noted that findings for one nanotube type (MWCNT-7) may not apply to other carbon nanotubes

Topics

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

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

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