Ferruginous bodies in benign fibrous pleural plaques

Our plain-English summary of Ferruginous bodies in benign fibrous pleural plaques, by P. Rosen, P. Gordon, A. Savino, et al (American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 1973).

The study

• Authors: P. Rosen, P. Gordon, A. Savino, M. Melamed
• Journal: American Journal of Clinical Pathology
• Published: 1973;60(5):608-12
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Some pathologic and epidemiologic evidence suggests that benign fibrous plaques may form in the pleura as a reaction to inspired asbestos. The ferruginous bodies formed in reaction to asbestos and other respirable fibers have virtually never been demonstrated in these lesions by study of tissue sections. Using a tissue digestion and microfiltration technic the authors identified small numbers of typical ferruginous bodies in three of eight specimens studied. Also found was another type of iron-coated structure which was designated an "atypical ferruginous body." These may be endogenous or exogenous in origin. Ferruginous bodies probably are of little significance in the genesis of fibrous pleural plaques.

PubMed has no abstract for this study. This is the authors' abstract, copied from the article.

In plain English

Researchers at a New York cancer hospital looked for ferruginous bodies in benign fibrous pleural plaques from eight patients. Ferruginous bodies are iron-coated fibers of the kind usually linked with asbestos exposure. The plaques were collected over 12 months at autopsy or surgery. The researchers dissolved 5-gram samples of plaque, and of lung where available, and filtered what remained to concentrate any bodies. Typical ferruginous bodies turned up in three of the eight plaque samples, in very small numbers (2, 7 and 6 per 5 grams), and only in parietal pleura. All six lung samples, which came from five patients, contained them, at counts from 41 to more than 250 per 5 grams. The team also found segmented iron-coated structures they called "atypical ferruginous bodies". These were more common in plaques than in lungs, and the authors could not say where they came from. Asbestos work histories were available for the three patients with the most bodies in their lungs. The authors concluded that ferruginous bodies are scarce in pleural plaques and may not play an important role in forming them.

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: Descriptive pathology study (case series) of plaque and lung tissue examined by tissue digestion and microfiltration, alongside histologic sections
• Who was studied: Eight patients with benign fibrous pleural plaques (seven men), with specimens obtained over a 12-month period from autopsies or surgery at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, New York. Their primary diseases included epithelial mesothelioma (3), lung carcinoma (3), acute myelogenous leukemia (1) and chronic pleuritis (1).
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure was inferred from occupation and from ferruginous bodies in tissue. Fiber types were not identified. Listed occupations included ship steward, salesman who was a shipbuilder in WWII, plumber and asbestos cutter, steamfitter and plasterer. Histories of occupational asbestos exposure were available for three patients.
• Main results:
  • Typical ferruginous bodies were found in 3 of the 8 pleural plaque samples (5 grams each). They were very few (2, 7 and 6 per 5 grams) and were found only in parietal pleura.
  • Ferruginous bodies of the type usually associated with asbestos were found in all six lung specimens, which came from five patients. Counts ranged from 41 to more than 250 per 5 grams of lung. The two patients with more than 250 had epithelial mesothelioma and pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
  • 'Atypical' ferruginous bodies were found: segmented, sometimes branched, golden-brown iron-coated structures. They were more numerous in the plaque sediments (10, 71 and 33 per 5 grams in three patients) than in lung.
  • Control filtrates of the fluids used contained neither typical nor atypical ferruginous bodies.
  • Of the three patients with asbestos work histories, two had lung carcinoma and one had mesothelioma. The two mesothelioma patients without lung tissue had also worked in jobs with potential for heavy asbestos exposure.
  • Four other cases were excluded because fibrous reactions to metastatic tumor looked identical to benign plaques by eye. The authors said microscopic examination of all suspected plaques is essential.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their results and earlier studies confirm that ferruginous bodies are scarce in pleural plaques and may not play an important role in plaque formation. They suggested that plaques probably contain many more fibers than can be demonstrated, and planned further studies for submicroscopic fibers.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No lung tissue was available for three of the eight patients.
  • The origin of the 'atypical' ferruginous bodies could not be determined. They may come from the body's own tissue or from an outside source.
  • Counting ferruginous bodies may understate the fibers present, because small fibers may not become coated. The authors considered it probable that plaques contain many more fibers than can be demonstrated.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Ferruginous Bodies, Pleural Plaques, Pleura, Respirable Fiber, Tissue Digestion, Ferruginous body.

Related studies

• Fibrous dust particles and ferruginous bodies. Methods for quantitating them and some results from the lungs of city dwellers — P. Gross, J. Tuma, et al. (1970)
• The clinical significance of ferruginous bodies in sputa — J.W. McLarty, S.D. Greenberg, et al. (1980)
• Ferruginous bodies: implications in the mechanism of fiber and particle toxicity — A.J. Ghio, A. Churg, et al. (2004)
• Analysis of ferruginous bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage from foundry workers — R.F. Dodson, M. O'Sullivan, et al. (1993)
• Ferruginous (abestos) bodies and primary carcinoma of the colon — P. Rosen, A. Savino, et al. (1974)
• A procedure for the isolation of amosite asbestos and ferruginous bodies from lung tissue and sputum — M.G. Williams, R.F. Dodson, et al. (1982)

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