Familial mesothelioma: review and family study

Our plain-English summary of Familial mesothelioma: review and family study, by H.T. Lynch, D. Katz, S.E. Markvicka (Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics, 1985).

The study

• Authors: H.T. Lynch, D. Katz, S.E. Markvicka
• Journal: Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics
• Published: 1985;15(1-2):25-35
• Cited by: 37 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. 001234).

Abstract

To date, with few exceptions, primary attention to the etiology of malignant mesothelioma has been focused on environmental factors. However, several reports of familial aggregations of mesothelioma strongly support the supposition that host factors, in concert with environmental exposure, particularly asbestos, may contribute etiologically to an as yet unknown fraction of occurrences of this disease. However, in evaluation of familial mesothelioma, it is important to consider the possibility of household exposure to asbestos. We report a family in which two brothers with prolonged occupational asbestos exposure manifested malignant pleural mesotheliomas of similar histology.

In plain English

This article combined a review of earlier published reports of mesothelioma in families with a report on one new family seen at Creighton University's Oncology Clinic in Omaha. Two brothers in the family had malignant pleural mesothelioma. The older brother had worked about 25 years as a railroad blacksmith and reported extensive asbestos exposure from welding on steam engine boilers. He was diagnosed in 1981 and died 87 days after starting chemotherapy. The younger brother had worked about 28 years as a steam fitter wrapping asbestos around steam pipes. A pathology report described malignant mesothelioma of the left pleura, and he died at age 54. Both tumors appeared mainly epithelial in type. Another brother had prostate and skin cancer, and a sister had cervical cancer. Neither was known to have been exposed to asbestos, and the authors considered chance the more likely explanation for their cancers. The authors concluded that host-factor susceptibility was suggested, with asbestos or erionite-type zeolite exposure appearing essential, but that the data could not define a genetic mechanism.

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: Review of earlier reports of familial mesothelioma combined with a family study (case report of one family)
• Who was studied: One family identified through a patient (the proband) at Creighton's Oncology Clinic, Omaha. The study covered the proband, his siblings (three brothers in total including the proband, plus one sister) and other relatives, assessed by questionnaires and medical and pathology records. No consanguinity was found.
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure in the two affected brothers. One was a railroad blacksmith for about 25 years (1916-1941) with reported extensive exposure from welding on steam engine boilers. The other was a steam fitter for about 28 years (1928-1956) who wrapped asbestos around steam pipes. Fiber type was not stated.
• Main results:
  • Case 1 (older brother, born 1903, railroad blacksmith) was diagnosed in 1981 with malignant pleural mesothelioma after a right thoracotomy and pleurectomy.
  • Case 1 did not respond to chemotherapy and died 87 days later. No autopsy was performed.
  • Case 2 (younger brother, born 1905, steam fitter) had a left pneumonectomy in 1957. The pathology report described malignant mesothelioma of the left pleura plus a tuberculoma of the lung.
  • Case 2 died at age 54 of what was recorded as carcinomatosis. No autopsy was performed.
  • The tumors of both brothers appeared to be primarily of the epithelial type.
  • Case 3 (another brother, pressman, no known asbestos exposure) was diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma at age 75 and later had a basal cell epithelioma of the skin.
  • Case 4 (the sister, a housewife and nonsmoker with no known asbestos exposure) was diagnosed with carcinoma of the uterine cervix at age 64 and died of metastases at age 73.
  • For the other cancers in the siblings, the authors considered chance the more likely explanation.
  • Two sons of the proband also had occupational asbestos exposure in a welding shop. They declined cancer surveillance counselling.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that host-factor susceptibility to malignant mesothelioma is suggested, and that asbestos exposure, or erionite-type zeolite exposure as in Turkey, appears essential for the disease to appear.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the available data on familial mesothelioma are not sufficient to define a genetic mechanism.
  • The authors suggested a possible association between familial mesothelioma and a specific tumor pattern, but said an extensive series of familial versus nonfamilial patients would be needed to clarify it.
  • The grandparents' causes of death and medical records could not be obtained.
  • The slides for Case 2 could not be obtained, so only the pathology report was reviewed.
  • The sister's husband's occupational history was unknown.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Etiology, Malignant Mesothelioma, Environmental Exposure, Asbestos Exposure, Pleural Mesothelioma, Histology.

Related studies

• Familial clustering of malignant mesothelioma — B. Risberg, J. Nickels, et al. (1980)
• Familial mesothelioma: a report of two families — S.P. Hammar, D. Bockus, et al. (1989)
• DNA copy number changes in familial malignant mesothelioma — V. Ascoli, Y. Aalto, et al. (2001)
• Familial pleural malignant mesothelioma: clustering in three sisters and one cousin — V. Ascoli, C.C. Scalzo, et al. (1998)
• A cluster of familial malignant mesothelioma with del(9p) as the sole chromosomal anomaly — M. Musti, D. Cavone, et al. (2002)
• Two familial mesothelioma cases with high concentrations of soluble cytokeratin 19 fragment in pleural fluid — J. Hiyama, M. Marukawa, et al. (1998)

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