Malignant mesothelioma: clustering in a family producing asbestos cement in their home

Our plain-English summary of Malignant mesothelioma: clustering in a family producing asbestos cement in their home, by K.E. Otte, T.I. Sigsgaard, J. Kjaerulff (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1990).

The study

• Authors: K.E. Otte, T.I. Sigsgaard, J. Kjaerulff
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1990;47(1):10-3
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000034).

Abstract

In a family with a remarkable aggregation of malignant mesothelioma the father, mother, and a son all died of the condition, whereas two other sons and a daughter were unaffected. From 1944 to 1961 the family produced a material that was used to fix screws in drilled holes and consisted of amosite, gypsum, and sand. It was produced in the basement of their villa and was described as being a dusty job. The father died in 1984 aged 74, the son in 1985 aged 45, and the mother in 1987 aged 79. It is concluded that there is a high risk of malignant mesothelioma after massive exposure to amosite and the risk and latency period are independent of age during the exposure.

In plain English

This case report described a family of six in which three members died of malignant mesothelioma. From 1944 to 1961 the family made a product called Rollfix, used to fix screws in drilled holes, by dry hand mixing amosite asbestos, gypsum and sand in the unventilated basement of their home. No protective equipment was used. The father and the second son died of peritoneal mesothelioma, and the mother died of pleural mesothelioma. The article reports that the father died in 1984 aged 74, the son in 1985 aged 45, and the mother in 1987 aged 79. The other two sons and the daughter were reported unaffected. The authors had no direct measurements of exposure in the house. They said heredity could not be ruled out, but considered it unlikely because both parents were affected. They also noted that the affected members were minor smokers. The authors concluded that there is a high risk of malignant mesothelioma after massive exposure to amosite, and that the risk and latency period are independent of age during exposure.

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: case report of one family (familial cluster)
• Who was studied: One family of six: father (born 1910), mother (born 1907), three sons (born 1938, 1940, 1954) and a daughter (born 1939). The authors were at Vejle County Hospital and Arhus University, Denmark.
• Exposure: Home production, 1944 to 1961, of 'Rollfix', a screw-fixing compound made by dry hand mixing of amosite asbestos, gypsum and sand in an unventilated basement, with no protective equipment. Scanning electron microscopy and x ray diffraction confirmed the asbestos was amosite. The family stayed in the house afterwards, and no asbestos was removed.
• Main results:
  • The father and one son died of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. The mother died of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
  • Ages at death: father in 1984 aged 74, second son in 1985 aged 45, mother in 1987 aged 79.
  • Two other sons and the daughter were unaffected by mesothelioma.
  • In the mother, necropsy and histology showed a malignant mesothelioma with asbestos fibres embedded among the tumour cells.
  • At age 53 the father had chest radiographs showing right-sided pleural thickening and retraction of the diaphragm. A tumour was not confirmed at that time.
  • The second son, who emigrated to Canada, had a malignant mesothelioma of mixed type with a large peritoneal tumour and died one month after diagnosis.
  • The affected family members were described as minor smokers.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that there is a high risk of malignant mesothelioma after massive exposure to amosite, and that the risk and latency period are independent of age during the exposure.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • There were no direct measurements of exposure in the house. Fibre counting was not used during production.
  • A hereditary contribution could not be ruled out, although the authors considered it unlikely because both parents were affected.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Asbestos-Cement, Amosite, Latency.

Related studies

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• Asbestos disease in family contacts of shipyard workers — K.H. Kilburn, R. Lilis, et al. (1985)
• Mortality experience of family contacts of asbestos factory workers — L. Joubert, H. Seidman, et al. (1991)
• A cohort study on mortality among wives of workers in the asbestos cement industry in Casale Monferrato, Italy — C. Magnani, B. Terracini, et al. (1993)
• Familial mesothelioma in first degree relatives — A.M. Kalogeraki, D.J. Tamiolakis, et al. (2013)
• A one-generation cluster of malignant mesothelioma within a family reveals exposure to asbestos-contaminated jute bags in Naples, Italy — V. Ascoli, C. Carnovale-Scalzo, et al. (2003)

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