Prof. Nico van Zandwijk: all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and safe use of asbestos is an illusion

Our plain-English summary of Prof. Nico van Zandwijk: all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and safe use of asbestos is an illusion, by V. Kong (Annals of Translational Medicine, 2018).

The study

• Author: V. Kong
• Journal: Annals of Translational Medicine
• Published: 2018;6(15):310
• Type of article: News
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This article is not a research study. It is an interview in the journal's 'Meet Medical Professionals in Sydney' series. The journal's science editor questioned Professor Nico van Zandwijk, who directed the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute at the University of Sydney from 2008 to 2017. The interview reports no original research data or analysis. An editor's note said that asbestos is now banned in 61 countries, including Australia. In the interview, Professor van Zandwijk said that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic, citing a WHO consensus, and that safe use of asbestos is an illusion. The professor said that the long latency period between first exposure and disease obscures the causal relationship. The professor also said that mesothelioma is very difficult to diagnose, which results in a significant underestimation of the number of asbestos cancers. The professor said that workers in developing countries continue to be exposed. The professor also criticised asbestos producers and certain organizations, naming the US Environmental Protection Agency, for failing to act on the scientific evidence. Finally, the professor said early referral of mesothelioma patients to palliative care remains important advice.

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: Interview with one expert (opinion piece; not a research study, no original data)
• Who was studied: One interviewee: Professor Nico van Zandwijk, who directed the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI), University of Sydney, Concord, NSW, Australia, from 2008 to 2017
• Exposure: Asbestos in general; no specific fiber types, products, jobs or doses are discussed
• Main results:
  • Editor's note (citing the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency): asbestos is now banned in 61 countries, including Australia
  • The interviewee stated that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic, citing a WHO consensus, and that safe use of asbestos is an illusion
  • The interviewee stated that the long latency between first exposure and disease obscures the causal relationship between asbestos exposure and asbestos cancers
  • The interviewee stated that mesothelioma diagnosis is very difficult, resulting in a significant underestimation of the number of asbestos cancers
  • The interviewee stated that workers in developing countries continue to be exposed to asbestos
  • The interviewee stated that asbestos producers and certain organizations, including the US Environmental Protection Agency, fail to act on the scientific evidence of asbestos hazards
  • The interviewee advised early referral of mesothelioma patients to palliative care
• The authors' conclusion: The interviewee's key message was that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and that safe use of asbestos is an illusion

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Carcinogenic.

Related studies

• Response to Letter to the Editor regarding Franzblau et al., Asbestos-containing materials in abandoned residential dwellings in Detroit, from Prof. Arthur Frank, MD, PhD — A. Franzblau, A.H. Demond, et al. (2020)
• Form Follows Function: Nanoparticle Shape and Its Implications for Nanomedicine — C. Kinnear, T.L. Moore, et al. (2017)
• The latent form of TGFbeta(1) is induced by TNFalpha through an ERK specific pathway and is activated by asbestos-derived reactive oxygen species in vitro and in vivo — D.E. Sullivan, M. Ferris, et al. (2008)
• Inhalation carcinogenesis from various forms of asbestos — A.L. Reeves, H.E. Puro, et al. (1974)
• Nephrogenic adenoma: a form of adenomatous metaplasia of the bladder. A clinical and electron microscopical study — E.A. Molland, P.A. Trott, et al. (1976)
• Absence of mutagenic activity of three forms of asbestos in liver epithelial cells — B. Reiss, S. Solomon, et al. (1982)

Browse more research in Annals of Translational Medicine, or return to medical research.