Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Pleural Mesothelioma in a Person Exposed to Asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Pleural Mesothelioma in a Person Exposed to Asbestos, by C. Bianchi, T. Bianchi (Türk Patoloji Dergisi, 2018).

The study

• Authors: C. Bianchi, T. Bianchi
• Journal: Türk Patoloji Dergisi
• Published: 2018;34(2):190-193
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and pleural mesothelioma may co-exist in the same patient. A large cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the inguinal lymph nodes was diagnosed in a 73-year-old woman. The patient was treated by chemotherapy. She did not receive radiotherapy. The patient had been exposed to asbestos having worked in a cotton mill and in a distillery. Four years after the diagnosis of lymphoma, she presented with a left pleural effusion. Large biopsies of the pleura showed a malignant mesothelioma, biphasic type, and pleural plaques. Epidemiological studies about the asbestos-lymphoma relationship gave conflicting results. The lymphoma-mesothelioma association is not exceptional, and suggests that asbestos plays a role in the etiology of both malignancies.

In plain English

This case report described one woman who developed two cancers. In 1997, at age 73, she had swollen lymph nodes in the groin, and a biopsy showed a large cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She was treated with chemotherapy for six months and did not receive radiotherapy. She had worked in a cotton mill in Gorizia from 1939 to 1943. She then worked for about 25 years (1955-1980) at a distillery in Gorizia, where her jobs included preparing asbestos powder used to filter spirits. The article does not name the asbestos fiber type. In November 2001 she was admitted to hospital with shortness of breath and weight loss. Doctors first suspected the lymphoma had returned. In December 2001 an examination of the chest cavity with a camera (videothoracoscopy) found nodules and pleural plaques, and biopsies showed a biphasic malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. She died in December 2002. The authors noted that epidemiological studies on asbestos and lymphoma gave conflicting results. They concluded that the lymphoma-mesothelioma association is not exceptional and suggests asbestos plays a role in causing both cancers.

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 (one patient)
• Who was studied: One woman, aged 73 when the lymphoma was diagnosed in 1997, treated in Gorizia, Italy
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure: work in a cotton mill in Gorizia (1939-1943), then about 25 years at a distillery in Gorizia (1955-1980), where her jobs included preparing asbestos powder for filtering spirits. Fiber type not stated.
• Main results:
  • In 1997 a lymph node biopsy showed a large cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  • She was treated with chemotherapy for six months and did not receive radiotherapy
  • In November 2001 she was admitted for shortness of breath (dyspnea) and weight loss; lymphoma recurrence was first suspected
  • In December 2001 a left videothoracoscopy showed several nodules and pleural plaques
  • Biopsies showed a malignant mesothelioma of biphasic type
  • She died in December 2002, one year after the mesothelioma diagnosis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors noted that epidemiological studies on asbestos and lymphoma gave conflicting results. They concluded that the lymphoma-mesothelioma association is not exceptional and suggests asbestos plays a role in the cause of both cancers.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Chemotherapy, Pleural Effusion, Pleura, Mesothelioma, Biphasic Mesothelioma, Pleural Plaques, Etiology.

Related studies

• Pulmonary asbestosis associated to pleural non-Hodgkin lymphoma — E. Parisio, C. Bianchi, et al. (1999)
• Simian virus 40 is present in most United States human mesotheliomas, but it is rarely present in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — P. Rizzo, M. Carbone, et al. (1999)
• A death-certificate case-control study of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and occupation in men in North Carolina — M.C. Schumacher, E. Delzell (1988)
• Clinicopathologic characteristics of malignant mesotheliomas arising in patients with a history of radiation for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma — L.R. Chirieac, J.A. Barletta, et al. (2013)
• Does asbestos exposure cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or related hematolymphoid cancers? A review of the epidemiologic literature — D.D. Weisenburger, B.C. Chiu (2002)
• Occupational asbestos exposure and the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract: an ecologic study — M.M. Treggiari, N.S. Weiss (2004)

Browse more research in Türk Patoloji Dergisi, or return to medical research.