Pleural mesothelioma after a short interval from first exposure in the wine filter industry

Our plain-English summary of Pleural mesothelioma after a short interval from first exposure in the wine filter industry, by G. Scansetti, F. Mollo, G. Tiberi, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1984).

The study

• Authors: G. Scansetti, F. Mollo, G. Tiberi, A. Andrion, G. Piolatto
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1984;5(4):335-9
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000573).

Abstract

Pleural mesotheliomas are usually reported after a long interval has passed since first exposure to asbestos. We, however, describe a case observed after a latent period of only 7.5 years in a worker exposed in a factory manufacturing auxiliary products for wine treatment, including chrysotile asbestos filters. The exposure to asbestos lasted 3-4 months per year, during which airborne fiber concentrations ranged from 1 to 4 ff/cc in the patient's workplace. Due to the characteristics of the manufacturing process, the asbestos fibers were very thin in diameter. The patient also suffered from nasal breathing impairment. An examination of the literature showed that asbestos-related mesotheliomas have been reported, albeit rarely, after less than 10 years from onset of exposure. Therefore, it is believed that this case should be related to past exposure to asbestos.

In plain English

This article is a case report of one man who developed pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest, 7.5 years after he first worked with asbestos. Beginning in 1971 he worked at a factory making products for wine treatment. There, chrysotile asbestos was processed into filtering material for 3 to 4 months a year until 1978. His job was recording and checking materials. Measurements taken in 1977 found 1 to 4 fibers per cubic centimeter around his work area. The authors described the exposure as not heavy and intermittent, and the fibers as very thin. His chest X-rays up to December 1977 were normal. In February 1979 he developed left chest pain and fluid around the lung. Mesothelioma was confirmed by tissue examination, and he died in September 1979. He had allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps, which the authors thought likely increased dust deposition in his lungs. The authors noted that intervals under 10 years have rarely been reported. They concluded that, in their opinion, the case should be related to past asbestos 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 (single patient)
• Who was studied: One male worker, born March 11, 1933, employed from 1971 in a factory manufacturing auxiliary products for wine treatment; previously an agrarian expert with no known prior asbestos exposure
• Exposure: Chrysotile asbestos opened for wine filters, processed 3-4 months a year from 1971 until 1978. The patient recorded and checked materials. 1977 measurements were 4 ff/cc at 1 m from the scale and 1 ff/cc in the surrounding environment. The authors described the fibers as very thin and the exposure as not heavy and intermittent.
• Main results:
  • Chest X-rays in October 1975, April 1977 and December 1977 showed no abnormalities in the patient
  • In February 1979 the patient developed acute left chest pain, shortness of breath and fever, with left pleural effusion
  • After decortication, mesothelioma was confirmed histologically (tubulopapillary structures with some sarcomatoid areas)
  • The patient died in September 1979
  • The interval from first exposure to onset was 7.5 years
  • The patient had allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps; the authors considered this likely to have increased dust deposition in the lungs
  • The authors described the exposure as intermittent
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, in their opinion, this case should be related to past asbestos exposure, although short latency periods are rarely reported
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No dust concentration data were available for the months outside the fiber-opening period

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Chrysotile, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

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• Confidence Intervals for Asbestos Fiber Counts: Approximate Negative Binomial Distribution — D. Bartley, J. Slaven, et al. (2017)
• Hyperthermic intraoperative pleural cisplatin chemotherapy extends interval to recurrence and survival among low-risk patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma undergoing surgical macroscopic complete resection — D.J. Sugarbaker, R.R. Gill, et al. (2013)
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• Epidemiology and the law: courts and confidence intervals — T. Christoffel, S.P. Teret (1991)

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