Presence of asbestos bodies in organs other than the lung

Our plain-English summary of Presence of asbestos bodies in organs other than the lung, by O. Auerbach, A.S. Conston, L. Garfinkel, et al (Chest, 1980).

The study

• Authors: O. Auerbach, A.S. Conston, L. Garfinkel, V.R. Parks, H.D. Kaslow, E.C. Hammond
• Journal: Chest
• Published: 1980;77(2):133-7
• Cited by: 109 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. 002026).

Abstract

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that subjects with many asbestos bodies in their lungs at autopsy would also have asbestos bodies in various other organs. The subjects included 19 cases with diagnosis of asbestosis at death (two of these had mesothelioma, five had lung cancer) and 18 with pleural plaques but not asbestosis. Occupational histories were obtained from relatives. In subjects occupationally exposed to asbestos, large numbers of asbestos bodies were found in the lungs, and in most of these, asbestos bodies were found in many of the other organs examined. In the 18 cases with only pleural plaques found at autopsy, considerably fewer asbestos bodies were found in the lungs. The number of other organs with one or more asbestos bodies ranged from 32 percent to 62 percent of the sites examined. The findings seem to confirm the hypothesis of the study.

In plain English

This autopsy study asked whether people with many asbestos bodies (iron-coated fibers) in their lungs had them in other organs. The authors selected 37 people (34 men, three women) from 1970 autopsies at Somerset Medical Center, New Jersey. Nineteen had asbestosis and plaques; two died of mesothelioma, five of lung cancer. Eighteen had pleural plaques but neither asbestosis nor mesothelioma. Relatives reported that 17 of the 19 with asbestosis had worked in an asbestos factory. Many had worked in a factory mainly using chrysotile. Across the six organs with 30 to 37 samples each, the article's table shows definite asbestos bodies on 36 percent (13 of 36, heart) to 62 percent (21 of 34, spleen) of slides; its text puts the low end at 38 percent. Far more were found in other organs when lung counts were too many to count than when few were. The authors wrote that the findings strongly suggest asbestos bodies are very likely present in other organs when exposure has formed a great many in the lungs. They cautioned against sweeping conclusions from 37 subjects at one hospital.

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: autopsy study: review of autopsy records and microscopic counting of asbestos bodies in preserved tissue samples from several organs
• Who was studied: 37 people (34 men and three women) autopsied at Somerset Medical Center, Somerville, NJ, during 1970, whose final diagnosis recorded asbestosis, mesothelioma or pleural plaques. 19 had asbestosis, all also with pleural plaques (two died of mesothelioma, five of lung cancer). 18 had pleural plaques but neither asbestosis nor mesothelioma (one died of lung cancer, one of pulmonary fibrosis of unknown cause).
• Exposure: Occupational history came from interviews with relatives. Of the 19 with asbestosis, 17 had worked in an asbestos factory, one in a factory where asbestos was used extensively, and one was a welder in a printing-press plant. Many subjects had worked in an asbestos factory where chrysotile was the principal type of asbestos used. The fiber type inside the asbestos bodies in the tissues was not identified (light microscopy only).
• Main results:
  • In lung tissue from all 19 subjects with asbestosis, many definite asbestos bodies were found: too many to count in 12 and more than 100 in seven.
  • Among the 18 subjects with pleural plaques but no asbestosis, more than 100 asbestos bodies were found in the lung sample in eight, and fewer than 100 in ten.
  • Across all 37 subjects, Table 2 shows that in the six organs with 30 to 37 specimens, the share of slides with one or more definite asbestos bodies was lowest for heart, at 13 of 36 (36 percent).
  • Across all 37 subjects, Table 2 shows the highest share among those six organs for spleen, at 21 of 34 (62 percent). The article's text gives the range as 38 percent (14/37, which Table 2 lists for kidney) to 62 percent (21/34).
  • Across all subjects, the share of slides with at least one definite asbestos body ranged from six of six (thyroid) down to five of 22 (brain).
  • The authors reported a definite relationship between lung counts and counts in other organs: far more asbestos bodies were found in other organs when lung counts were too many to count than when relatively few were found in the lung.
  • On single slides, 88 asbestos bodies were found in one heart sample, and more than 100 in one spleen sample.
  • Of 25 subjects with samples from all six of kidney, heart, liver, spleen, adrenal glands and pancreas, six had no definite asbestos bodies in any of these organs and three had them in all six.
  • Asbestos bodies were also found in other tissues: mediastinal lymph nodes, bone, duodenum, stomach, colon, omentum and spinal cord.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that the findings strongly suggest that when exposure to asbestos dust is great enough to form many asbestos bodies in the lungs, asbestos bodies are very likely to be present in one or several other organs as well. They leaned toward the explanation that fibers migrate to other organs and become coated there.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors cautioned against too-sweeping conclusions from only 37 subjects, all autopsied at the same hospital, many of whom had worked in the same asbestos factory.
  • Light microscopy alone cannot show whether a body was formed around an asbestos fiber. Some may have been ferruginous bodies formed around another kind of fiber.
  • Exposure information came from relatives. Because a major asbestos factory was nearby, some subjects may have been exposed without knowing it.
  • When very many asbestos bodies were present in clumps, accurate counting was impossible, so 'more than 100' or 'too many to count' was recorded instead.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Bodies, Autopsy, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Pleural Plaques.

Related studies

• Asbestos bodies in lung parenchyma in relation to ingestion and inhalation of mineral fibers — O. Auerbach, E.C. Hammond, et al. (1977)
• Ferromagnetic contamination in the lungs and other organs of the human body — D. Cohen (1973)
• Asbestos fibers in human pulmonary and extrapulmonary tissues — J. Huang, N. Hisanaga, et al. (1988)
• Migration of ingested asbestos — J.H. Kaczenski, W.H. Hallenbeck (1984)
• Can lung cancer risk among nickel refinery workers be explained by occupational exposures other than nickel? — T.K. Grimsrud, S.R. Berge, et al. (2005)
• Asbestos-related diseases of the lung and other organs: their epidemiology and implications for clinical practice — M.R. Becklake (1976)

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