Exposure to asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma

Our plain-English summary of Exposure to asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma, by P.M. Stell, T. McGill (The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 1975).

The study

• Authors: P.M. Stell, T. McGill
• Journal: The Journal of Laryngology and Otology
• Published: 1975;89(5):513-7
• Cited by: 23 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. 002336).

Abstract

One hundred and nineteen male patients with squamous carcinoma of the larynx and 119 matched controls with various non-malignant diseases were questioned about their exposure to asbestos. Thirty-three patients and three controls had experienced an important degree of exposure to asbestos. The difference between the two groups was statistically highly significant.

In plain English

In this retrospective study from the Liverpool Ear, Nose and Throat Infirmary, the authors interviewed 119 men with histologically proven squamous carcinoma of the larynx and 119 male controls attending the hospital's casualty department with minor complaints, matched for age in decades. The interviews covered asbestos exposure and smoking, and the authors often had to ask leading questions about asbestos. Thirty-three patients (27.7 per cent) and three controls (2.5 per cent) had significant asbestos exposure, a difference the authors reported as highly significant. Exposed patients had lagged heating equipment (20), scaled boilers (3) or unloaded raw asbestos on the docks (10). Their maximum age of cancer onset was a decade less than that of unexposed patients. Smoking habits did not differ between exposed and unexposed patients, but the controls included more non-smokers. Only one exposed patient had pulmonary asbestosis. The authors concluded that the results suggest an association. They noted that the study was retrospective and involved a small number of men, and that patients may have been influenced by the prospect of compensation.

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: Retrospective case-control study with controls matched for age in decades; data gathered by personal interview
• Who was studied: 119 men with histologically proven squamous carcinoma of the larynx attending the Joint Consultative Clinic of the Liverpool Ear, Nose and Throat Infirmary, and 119 male controls chosen at random from the same hospital's casualty department with minor complaints (such as wax in the ears or discharging mastoid cavities), matched for age in decades. No study dates are given.
• Exposure: Self-reported occupational asbestos exposure, obtained by personal interview (often using leading questions). Among the 33 exposed patients there were three types of work: lagging of heating equipment (20 patients), scaling of boilers (3 patients) and unloading raw asbestos on the docks (10 patients). No fiber types or doses are given for the participants' exposure.
• Main results:
  • Significant asbestos exposure was reported by 27.7 per cent of patients with laryngeal carcinoma (33 of 119) compared with 2.5 per cent of controls (3 of 119).
  • The authors reported the difference in the proportion with known exposure between patients and controls as highly significant.
  • Among patients with laryngeal carcinoma, the maximum age of onset was a decade less in those with significant asbestos exposure than in those with no history of exposure.
  • Smoking habits did not differ between patients who were asbestos workers and patients with no asbestos association.
  • There was a greater percentage of non-smokers among the controls than among the patients with laryngeal carcinoma.
  • Of the 33 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and a history of asbestos exposure, only one had pulmonary asbestosis.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the results suggest an association between exposure to asbestos and laryngeal carcinoma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The conclusion rests on a retrospective study, with all the disadvantages of such a study.
  • The study involved a small number of male patients who may have been influenced by the prospect of compensation.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• 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)
• Asbestosis, laryngeal carcinoma, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in an insulation worker — A. Fischbein, J.C. Luo, et al. (1991)
• Metastatic laryngeal carcinoma mimicking pleural mesothelioma — M. Huncharek, J. Muscat (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 fibers in laryngeal tissues. Findings in two patients with asbestosis associated with laryngeal tumors — A. Hirsch, J. Bignon, et al. (1979)

Browse return to medical research.