Canadian Respiratory Journal

Our medical research library holds 9 studies published in Canadian Respiratory Journal (2004–2017). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 8 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it.

About the journal

• Publisher: Wiley
• Published: 1994 to the present, United States
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1198-2241 (print), 1916-7245 (electronic)
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2010s

• Occupational Exposure to Talc Increases the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Occupational Cohort Studies. C.J. Chang, Y.K. Tu, P.C. Chen, et al. 2017;2017:1270608. Meta-analysis · Review PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Objective: Talc is widely used in industrial applications. Previous meta-analyses of carcinogenic effects associated with inhaled talc included publications before 2004, with a lack of data in China, the largest talc-producing country. The safety of workers exposed to talc was unclear due to limited evidence. The objective of this study was to reevaluate the association between inhaled talc and lung cancer.

  Setting Participants And Outcome Measures: A meta-analysis was performed to calculate the meta-SMR of lung cancer. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang Data databases through March 2017. Data from observational studies were pooled using meta-analysis with random effects models.

  Results: Fourteen observational cohort studies (13 publications) were located via literature search. The heterogeneity of the included data was high (I-squared = 72.9%). Pooling all the cohorts yielded a meta-SMR of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.22-1.72, p < 0.0001) for lung cancer among the study subjects exposed to talc. Subgroup analysis for asbestos contamination showed no significant difference in lung cancer death between subjects exposed to talc with and without asbestos (p = 0.8680), indicating that this confounding factor may have no significance.

  Conclusions: This study provides evidence that nonasbestiform talc might still increase the risk of lung cancer. Further epidemiological studies are required to evaluate the safety of workers with occupational talc exposure.

• Risk Factors of Mortality from All Asbestos-Related Diseases: A Competing Risk Analysis. R. Abós-Herràndiz, T. Rodriguez-Blanco, I. Garcia-Allas, et al. 2017;2017:9015914. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Background: The mortality from all malignant and nonmalignant asbestos-related diseases remains unknown. The authors assessed the incidence and risk factors for all asbestos-related deaths.

  Methods: The sample included 544 patients from an asbestos-exposed community in the area of Barcelona (Spain), between Jan 1, 1970, and Dec 31, 2006. Competing risk regression through a subdistribution hazard analysis was used to estimate risk factors for the outcomes.

  Results: Asbestos-related deaths were observed in 167 (30.7%) patients and 57.5% of these deaths were caused by some type of mesothelioma. The incidence rate after diagnosis was 3,600 per 100,000 person-years. In 7.5% of patients death was non-asbestos-related, while pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma were identified in 87 (16.0%) and 18 (3.3%) patients, respectively.

  Conclusions: Age, sex, household exposure, cumulative nonmalignant asbestos-related disease, and single malignant pathology were identified as risk factors for asbestos-related death. These findings suggest the need to develop a preventive approach to the community and to improve the clinical follow-up process of these patients.

• Software for Apportionment of Asbestos-Related Mesotheliomas. R.M. Ross. 2016;2016:5340676. Review PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Patients with an asbestos-related mesothelioma may be legally entitled to financial compensation. In this context, a physician may be called upon to apportion the contribution of an asbestos containing product or facility where there was asbestos exposure in the development of that individual's mesothelioma. This task is mathematically not simple. It is a complex function of each and the entire individual's above-background asbestos exposures. Factors to be considered for each of these exposures are the amount of exposure to mesotheliogenic fibers, each of the asbestos containing products' potency to cause mesothelioma, and the time period when the exposures occurred relative to when the mesothelioma was diagnosed. In this paper, the known factors related to asbestos-related mesothelioma risk are briefly reviewed and the software that is downloadable and fully functional in a Windows® environment is also provided. This software allows for rapid assessment of relative contributions and deals with the somewhat tedious mathematical calculations. With this software and a reasonable occupational history, if it is decided that the mesothelioma was due to above-background asbestos exposure, the contribution of an asbestos containing product or a time period of asbestos exposure can be apportioned.

• Pleural mesothelioma surveillance: validity of cases from a tumour registry. F. Labrèche, B.W. Case, G. Ostiguy, et al. 2012;19(2):103-7. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Background: Pleural mesothelioma is a rare tumour associated with exposure to asbestos fibres. Fewer than than one-quarter of cases registered in the Quebec Tumour Registry (QTR) have been compensated as work-related. While establishing a surveillance system, this led to questioning as to whether there has been over-registration of cases that are not authentic pleural mesotheliomas in the QTR.

  Objective: To assess whether registered cases of pleural mesothelioma could be confirmed.

  Methods: A medical chart review was designed to assess the proportion of mesothelioma cases newly registered in the QTR in 2001⁄2002 that could be confirmed. For each registered case, clinical, medical imaging and pathology information were sought and, occasionally, additional immunohistochemistry staining was obtained. Three specialists - a chest physician, a radiologist and a pathologist - reviewed the available information and material, coding each mesothelioma case as to degree of certainty of the mesothelioma diagnosis.

  Results: The QTR reported 190 incident cases of mesothelioma (81% males) for the period. The specialists classified 81% of charts as 'certain⁄probable' or 'possible' mesotheliomas, 8% as 'unlikely to be a mesothelioma' and 11% as 'not a mesothelioma'. After excluding chart summaries of unsatisfactory quality, 87% to 88% of the charts were classified as 'certain⁄probable' or 'possible' mesotheliomas, and 9% to 11% were still considered 'not a mesothelioma'.

  Conclusion: Tumour registry data are a valid source of information for mesothelioma surveillance. While there is some over-registration of mesothelioma cases in the QTR, a significant majority of registered cases appeared to be authentic. Over-registration cannot explain the greater proportion of cases that were not compensated.

• Solitary fibrous tumour of the pleura: A case report. G. Rakovich, M. Laflamme, D. Ouellette, et al. 2010;17(3):113-4. Case report PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Solitary fibrous tumours of the pleura are rare pleural neoplasms that are distinct from mesothelioma. Most of them are benign, although some behave aggressively; morphological and pathological features are important in distinguishing them from mesothelioma and in predicting clinical behaviour. Solitary fibrous tumours often grow to a large size before causing symptoms, and are characteristically associated with hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy in up to 20% of cases. In cases of benign lesions, complete resection is usually curative. A case involving a 62-year-old woman who underwent surgical resection of a solitary fibrous tumour of the pleura measuring 25 cm in size is described.

2000s

• Filing for workers' compensation among Ontario cases of mesothelioma. J.I. Payne, E. Pichora. 2009;16(5):148-52. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Background/Objective: For many types of cancer, disease attribution to occupational exposures is difficult. Mesothelioma, however, is a 'sentinel' occupational cancer associated with asbestos exposure. The present study linked workers' compensation claims data with cancer registry data to explore the completeness of reporting of mesothelioma to the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) according to characteristics of cases diagnosed among Ontario residents.

  Methods: Two data sources were linked at the person level: the WSIB Occupational Disease Information and Surveillance System and the Ontario Cancer Registry. Filing rates were calculated as the proportion of Ontario Cancer Registry mesothelioma cases (International Classification of Diseases - Oncology code 905) that linked to a WSIB-filed cancer claim. Filing rates were calculated for the period 1980 to 2002, and trends were calculated by year, age and county of residence at diagnosis.

  Results: The filing rate for compensation has increased little over the past 20 years, reaching a high of 43% in 2000. Overall, filing rates were highest among pleural mesothelioma cases among men (range 27% to 57%). Filing rates were highest among individuals 50 to 59 years of age and declined substantially throughout the retirement years. There was substantial variation in filing rates by area of residence, with the highest rate being in Lambton County, Ontario.

  Conclusion: The filing rate for compensation in Ontario was much lower than the estimated proportion of cases eligible for compensation. The increased filing rate in Lambton County was likely related to this community's awareness of the association between asbestos and mesothelioma. Physicians can play an important role in educating patients of their potential entitlement to compensation benefits.

• Pleuroparenchymal lung disease secondary to nonoccupational exposure to vermiculite. F. Al-Ghimlas, V. Hoffstein. 2007;14(3):164-6. Case report PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  An unusual case of pleuroparenchymal lung disease caused by the inhalation of vermiculite dust, presumably containing asbestos fibers is described. The uniqueness of the case lies in the very indirect nature of exposure -- the wife of a factory owner, rather than a worker exposed to asbestos, whose factory manufactured vermiculite. The present case illustrates the importance of taking careful occupational histories of all household members when presented with a patient whose chest radiograph exhibits features consistent with asbestos exposure.

• Evaluation of malignant mesothelioma in central Anatolia: a study of 67 cases. I. Gulmez, L. Kart, H. Buyukoglan, et al. 2004;11(4):287-90. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a fatal neoplasm which frequently results from exposure to asbestos or erionite.

  Method: Sixty-seven patients with MM were seen between 1990 and 2001. Their clinical and radiological features, as well as the therapy, were retrospectively evaluated.

  Results: In 51 patients (76.1%), the MM was confined to the pleura, in 14 patients it was exclusively peritoneal and in two patients, it involved both areas. Of the 67 cases, 35 (52.2%) were women. The mean (+/- SD) age for all cases was 57.6+/-11.5 years. Dyspnea (67.2%), cough (55.2%) and chest pain (50.7%) were the most frequent symptoms of onset. Pleural effusion (92.4%) was the most common chest x-ray finding, whereas pleural effusion (60.8%), pleural nodules (34.7%) and pleural thickening (34.7%) were the most common computed tomography findings in pleural MM patients. The histological subtypes of MM were determined as epithelial in 60 patients (89.5%), sarcomatous in four patients (5.9%) and mixed in three patients (4.4%). Although 50.7% and 25.4% of the cases were exposed to erionite and asbestos, respectively, 23.9% of the cases recalled no exposure to asbestos or erionite. Exposures were environmental as opposed to occupational. Thirty-five patients (52.2%) were administered chemotherapy, and follow-up data were available for 22 patients. For these patients, the two-year survival rate was 22% and the two-year progression-free interval was 15.7%. There were no differences between patients with asbestos and erionite exposure.

  Conclusion: MM should be considered when exudative pleural effusion is detected in a patient who has been exposed to asbestos or erionite. MM is a major public health problem in parts of Turkey and compulsory environmental control of fibrous mineral should be considered.

• Trouble in Anatolia. N.R. Anthonisen. 2004;11(4):273-4. In English, French. Comment PubMed · Publisher

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