Proceedings: Asbestos carcinogenesis

Our plain-English summary of Proceedings: Asbestos carcinogenesis, by J.C. Wagner (British Journal of Cancer, 1975).

The study

• Author: J.C. Wagner
• Journal: British Journal of Cancer
• Published: 1975;32(2):258-9
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Summary of the article

This summary of a talk at the 16th Annual General Meeting of the British Association for Cancer Research reviewed cancers in people exposed to asbestos dust and whether they were linked to specific fibre types. Lung carcinoma was first reported in cases of asbestosis in 1935. By 1964, 60% of UK workers diagnosed with asbestosis to a degree warranting compensation developed carcinomata. Cigarette smoking and asbestosis were recognized as having a multiplicative carcinogenic effect. The carcinomata occurred in cases of definite asbestosis, all major commercial asbestos types were implicated, and incidence was higher in industry than in mining areas. Diffuse mesotheliomata of the pleura and peritoneum, first reported as a series from South Africa in 1960, could occur without lung scarring. They were more clearly associated with crocidolite from the Cape Province and, to a lesser extent, from Western Australia. They appeared long after first exposure, sometimes after exposure as brief as 6 weeks. A dust dosage relationship had been shown, and there was no evidence of an association with smoking. Surveys showed a slight but significant increase in gastrointestinal tumours, while a study of women asbestos workers showed no increase in ovarian tumours. In animals, intrapleural inoculation of all asbestos types produced mesotheliomata. Very fine chrysotile produced the most, and finer fibres gave more tumours. Inhalation studies produced lung carcinomata in rats, mostly in animals with moderate asbestosis, and a few mesotheliomata.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This short meeting abstract (B.A.C.R. 16th Annual General Meeting) summarized existing evidence on asbestos and cancer. It described no new study or methods. The author stated that lung carcinoma was first reported in asbestosis cases in 1935, and that by 1964, 60% of United Kingdom workers with asbestosis warranting compensation developed carcinomata. According to the author, the accepted evidence was that these carcinomas occur in definite asbestosis and that excessive exposure to all major commercial asbestos types is implicated; smoking and asbestosis have a multiplicative effect. The author described diffuse mesotheliomata of the pleura and peritoneum as more clearly associated with crocidolite (blue asbestos) from South Africa's Cape Province, and less so from Western Australia, than with other types. The author stated that these tumours occur a considerable time after first exposure and can develop after exposure lasting as little as 6 weeks in some cases. The author also stated that there was no evidence linking them with cigarette smoking. In animal experiments, very fine chrysotile placed in the pleural cavity produced the highest percentage of mesotheliomata.

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: Conference proceedings abstract summarizing existing evidence (narrative overview); no original study methods are described
• Who was studied: No specific study population. The abstract refers in general to people exposed to asbestos dust, including United Kingdom workers with compensated asbestosis, workers in industry and mining areas, women asbestos workers, and experimental animals (rats)
• Exposure: Asbestos dust of various types, especially crocidolite (blue asbestos) from the Cape Province of South Africa and from Western Australia, as well as chrysotile. Other natural and synthetic mineral fibres were also covered, in animal experiments
• Main results:
  • The author stated that by 1964, 60% of United Kingdom workers diagnosed with asbestosis to a degree warranting compensation developed carcinomata (lung carcinoma was first reported in cases of asbestosis in 1935)
  • The author stated that cigarette smoking and asbestosis have a multiplicative carcinogenic effect
  • According to the author, the accepted evidence was that lung carcinomas occur in cases of definite asbestosis and that excessive exposure to all major commercial asbestos types is implicated. Incidence was higher in those exposed in industry than in mining areas
  • The author stated that mesotheliomata occur after a considerable lapse of time from initial exposure
  • The author stated that mesotheliomata can occur without scarring in the lungs. In some cases they can develop in people whose exposure lasted as little as 6 weeks, and they show a dust dosage relationship
  • The author stated there is no evidence of an association between mesotheliomata and cigarette smoking
  • The author reported that several surveys showed a slight but significant increased incidence of gastrointestinal tumours in asbestos workers, while a study of women asbestos workers did not show an increased incidence of ovarian tumours
  • In animal experiments, intrapleural inoculation of all asbestos types produced mesotheliomata. Very fine chrysotile gave the highest percentage of tumours and was more carcinogenic than crocidolite when implanted in the pleural cavity. Finer fibres gave a greater incidence of tumour
  • In rat inhalation studies, squamous and adenocarcinomata were produced, mostly in animals with moderate asbestosis, and a few mesotheliomata were seen

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: Carcinogenesis, Carcinoma, Carcinogenic, Pleura, Peritoneum, Crocidolite, Cape Province, Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Proceedings of the American Society of Cytopathology companion session at the 2019 United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology Annual meeting, part 2: effusion cytology with focus on theranostics and diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma — M.T. Siddiqui, F. Schmitt, et al. (2019)
• Proceedings of the 2017 National Toxicology Program Satellite Symposium — S.A. Elmore, F. Aeffner, et al. (2017)
• Proceedings: The physicist's approach to asbestos cancers — V. Timbrell (1974)
• Proceedings: Biological effects of asbestos. Unanswered questions posed by epidemiological studies — J.C. Gilson (1974)
• Proceedings: The recognition of various types of asbestos as minerals, and in tissues — F.D. Pooley (1974)
• Carcinogenesis and mineral fibres — J.C. Wagner, G. Berry, et al. (1980)

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