Asbestos-related cancer

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related cancer, by M.A. Schneiderman (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1992).

The study

• Author: M.A. Schneiderman
• Journal: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
• Published: 1992;84(14):1125
• Type of article: Letter
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a research study. The author wrote to clarify a telephone conversation with a Journal reporter about estimates of asbestos-related cancer deaths. The author explained that an earlier "estimates paper" had proposed several figures, from 900 deaths per year up to the 58000-75000 cited in a recent Journal news item, and that the final estimate was 13 900 deaths. That figure assumed a 6.6-fold increase in lung cancer among exposed workers, as reported by Selikoff. This gave 10,400 excess lung cancer cases plus roughly another third, or 3,500, due to mesothelioma, for 13,900 cases per year. The 6.6-fold figure was roughly the midpoint of other authors' estimates, which ranged from 1.5-fold to 12-fold. The author noted this may be an overestimate, because workers exposed at the time may have less exposure than the workers the risk ratios came from. The author also noted that some of the 13,900 cases could also be attributed to smoking. The author wondered how much of the recent decline in lung cancer may relate to reduced exposure to asbestos and other lung carcinogens as well as to reduced smoking.

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: letter to the editor (correspondence) commenting on earlier published estimates; no new data
• Who was studied: No population was studied; the letter discusses earlier estimates of yearly asbestos-related cancer deaths among exposed workers
• Exposure: occupational asbestos exposure in general; no fiber types, products or doses are named
• Main results:
  • The estimates paper proposed several estimates of asbestos-related cancer deaths, ranging from 900 per year to the 58000-75000 cited in a recent Journal news item
  • The final estimate was 13 900 deaths per year: a 6.6-fold increase in lung cancer among exposed workers (as reported by Selikoff) gave 10,400 excess cases, plus roughly another third, or 3,500, due to mesothelioma
  • The relative risk of 6.6-fold was roughly the midpoint of estimates from other authors ranging from 1.5-fold to 12-fold
• The authors' conclusion: The author considered it appropriate, from a prevention point of view, to attribute a cancer case to several causes. The author wondered how much of the recent decline in lung cancer may be related to reduced exposure to asbestos and other lung carcinogens as well as to reduced smoking.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The estimate may overstate the number of cancers, because workers exposed at the time may have less exposure than the workers from whom the risk ratios were derived
  • Some of the 13900 cases could also be attributed to smoking; how to attribute cancers when there are multiple exposures remains unresolved

Related studies

• Asbestos-related cancers among 28,300 military servicemen in the Royal Norwegian Navy — L.A. Strand, J.I. Martinsen, et al. (2010)
• Investigating cancer risks related to asbestos and other occupational carcinogens — J. Siemiatycki (2007)
• Tissue distribution of a coelomic-epithelium-related antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody OC125 — S.E. Kabawat, R.C. Bast, et al. (1983)
• Asbestos-related diseases of the lung and other organs: their epidemiology and implications for clinical practice — M.R. Becklake (1976)
• Role of nitrative and oxidative DNA damage in inflammation-related carcinogenesis — M. Murata, R. Thanan, et al. (2012)
• Cumulative asbestos exposure and mortality from asbestos related diseases in a pooled analysis of 21 asbestos cement cohorts in Italy — F. Luberto, D. Ferrante, et al. (2019)

Browse more research in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, or return to medical research.