Malignant Mesothelioma and Its Nonasbestos Causes: Talcum Powder Does Not Create Occult Asbestos Exposure

Our plain-English summary of Malignant Mesothelioma and Its Nonasbestos Causes: Talcum Powder Does Not Create Occult Asbestos Exposure, by S.J. Geyer (Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 2019).

The study

• Author: S.J. Geyer
• Journal: Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
• Published: 2019;143(12):1439
• Type of article: Letter, Comment
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a study, and it reports no new data. The author responded to a letter by Finkelstein proposing that hidden asbestos in cosmetic talcum powder explains the nonasbestos-related mesotheliomas described by Attanoos et al. The author disputed four articles Finkelstein cited. For Rohl et al, the author noted that an IARC monograph said little reliance can be placed on its reported tremolite and anthophyllite concentrations. The author wrote that Blount did not identify particles in a baby powder as asbestiform tremolite, and that Blount reported only cleavage particles in 4 samples, only prismatic pieces in 1, and no particles in 6. The author described Gordon et al as a case report, which cannot estimate disease frequency or risk. The author quoted Anderson et al as finding no confirmed asbestos fibers by electron microscopy. The author argued that analyses reported by Roggli do not show talc was the source of asbestos. The author concluded that Finkelstein offered no properly cited peer-reviewed support. The author disclosed expert witness work in asbestos and talcum powder litigation.

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 responding to an earlier letter. It contains no original data.
• Who was studied: No study population. The letter examines four articles cited in Finkelstein's letter about mesotheliomas described by Attanoos et al.
• Exposure: Cosmetic talcum powder and claims that it contains tremolite and anthophyllite.
• Main results:
  • On Rohl et al, the author cited the IARC monographs, volume 93, as stating that little reliance can be placed on the reported tremolite and anthophyllite concentrations.
  • On Blount, the author wrote that Blount did not identify the particles in a baby powder as asbestiform tremolite.
  • According to the author, Blount reported only cleavage particles in 4 samples, only prismatic pieces in 1 sample, and no particles in 6 samples.
  • The author described Gordon et al as a case report and stated that case reports do not estimate disease frequency or risk.
  • The author quoted Anderson et al: transmission electron microscopy of cosmetic talcum powder found no confirmed asbestos fibers.
  • The author argued that Roggli's reported association between tremolite and anthophyllite and talc in lung fiber burden analyses does not show that talc was the source of the asbestos.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that Finkelstein offered no properly cited peer-reviewed articles supporting the claim that retail talc products create occult amphibole asbestos exposures that contribute to malignant mesothelioma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • This is not a limitation the author states but a competing-interest disclosure: the author provides pathology expert witness services in asbestos and talcum powder litigation.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Talc and vermiculite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women — R. Lee, D. Van Orden (2015)
• Response to RE: Gordon R, Fitzgerald S, and Millette J. Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2014;20(4):318-332 — R.E. Gordon (2015)
• Consumer talcums and powders: mineral and chemical characterization — A.N. Rohl, A.M. Langer, et al. (1976)
• Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products — A.M. Burns, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2019)
• Pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of cosmetic talcum powder — I.P. Wells, P.A. Dubbins, et al. (1979)
• Commentary on "Assessment of Health Risk From Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder" — D. Egilman, J. Steffen (2018)

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