Pulmonary asbestos body counts and electron probe analysis of asbestos body cores in patients with mesothelioma: a study of 25 cases

Our plain-English summary of Pulmonary asbestos body counts and electron probe analysis of asbestos body cores in patients with mesothelioma: a study of 25 cases, by V.L. Roggli, M.H. McGavran, J. Subach, et al (Cancer, 1982).

The study

• Authors: V.L. Roggli, M.H. McGavran, J. Subach, H.D. Sybers, S.D. Greenberg
• Journal: Cancer
• Published: 1982;50(11):2423-32
• Cited by: 63 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. 000706).

Abstract

Malignant mesotheliomas of the pleura and peritoneum are well-recognized risks of asbestos exposure. We determined the asbestos body content of the lungs from 24 cases of malignant mesothelioma (19 pleural, five peritoneal) and compared such to the content of lungs from 50 consecutive adult autopsies and four cases of overt asbestosis using a Clorox-digestion concentration technique. The cores of 90 asbestos bodies were examined by energy dispersive x-ray analysis and compared with similar data from 120 standard asbestos fibers and 20 fiberglass fibers. The malignant mesothelioma patients had asbestos body counts intermediate between those of the general population and those of patients with asbestosis, although some of the mesothelioma cases overlapped with the general population. These latter cases often lacked an identifiable occupational exposure to asbestos. EDXA studies demonstrated an amphibole core in 88 of the 90 asbestos bodies (amosite or crocidolite in 80 of 88, anthophyllite or tremolite in eight of 88), and chrysotile in two instances.

In plain English

This study examined lung tissue from all 25 mesothelioma cases diagnosed at The Methodist Hospital from January 1963 to March 1980. There were 18 malignant pleural cases, six malignant peritoneal cases and one localized fibrous tumor of the pleura. The authors counted asbestos bodies per gram of lung and compared the counts with 50 consecutive adult autopsies without known occupational asbestos exposure and with four patients with asbestosis. A history of occupational asbestos exposure was found in 46% of the malignant cases. Eleven mesothelioma patients had 80 to 29,700 asbestos bodies per gram, and all but one worked in jobs with known asbestos exposure. Fourteen had less than 1 to 19 per gram, and only one of these had identifiable exposure. Asbestos bodies were found in 92% of controls. Of 90 asbestos body cores from pleural mesothelioma and asbestosis patients, 88 were amphibole (80 amosite or crocidolite, eight anthophyllite or tremolite) and two were chrysotile. The authors reported that mesothelioma counts fell between those of the general population and those of asbestosis patients, and that cases overlapping the general population often lacked identifiable occupational 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: Hospital case series of mesothelioma patients, with lung asbestos body counts compared against control autopsies and asbestosis cases, plus electron microscopy and analysis of asbestos body cores
• Who was studied: 25 mesothelioma cases from The Methodist Hospital (18 malignant pleural, 6 malignant peritoneal, 1 localized fibrous tumor of the pleura). Comparison groups were 50 consecutive adult autopsies with no known occupational asbestos exposure and 4 men with asbestosis.
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure, taken from hospital charts and interviews with relatives or physicians. Exposed jobs included pipefitters or insulators, shipyard workers, oil or chemical refinery workers and an asbestos plant employee. Lung asbestos bodies were counted per gram of wet lung tissue.
• Main results:
  • A history of occupational asbestos exposure was obtained for 11 of the 24 malignant mesothelioma patients (46%).
  • None of the other 14 mesothelioma patients, including the patient with the localized fibrous tumor of the pleura, had an identifiable asbestos exposure.
  • Eleven mesothelioma patients had 80 to 29,700 asbestos bodies per gram of lung. All but one worked in an occupation with known asbestos exposure; complete history was not available for Case 21.
  • Fourteen mesothelioma patients had less than 1 to 19 asbestos bodies per gram of lung. Only one of them (Case 12) had identifiable asbestos exposure.
  • Mean asbestos body counts were 10,900 per gram in the asbestosis group and 2330 per gram in the mesothelioma group.
  • Mesothelioma patients with a history of asbestos exposure but without asbestosis (Cases 3-9, 20, 21) had a mean of 244 asbestos bodies per gram of lung.
  • Asbestos bodies were found in the lungs of 92% of the control autopsy group.
  • Core analysis was done on 90 asbestos bodies: 59 from pleural mesothelioma patients and 31 from asbestosis patients.
  • Of the 90 cores, 88 were amphibole (amosite or crocidolite in 80 of 88, anthophyllite or tremolite in 8 of 88) and 2 were chrysotile.
  • Electron diffraction showed a structure compatible with amphibole asbestos in all 12 cores for which a pattern was obtained.
  • No fibrous dust other than asbestos was identified in the mesothelioma cases examined by electron microscopy.
  • There was no significant difference in the distribution of tumor types between mesothelioma patients with and without asbestos exposure.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the mesothelioma patients had asbestos body counts between those of the general population and those of asbestosis patients. Some mesothelioma cases overlapped with the general population, and these cases often lacked identifiable occupational exposure.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Electron microscopy did not find asbestos bodies in cases with fewer than 19 asbestos bodies per gram, so cores could not be analyzed in those cases.
  • Because the method misclassified some known reference fibers, the authors did not try to separate amosite from crocidolite in the asbestos body cores.
  • Calcium readings were higher than in other studies because background counts were not corrected.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Body Formation, Mesothelioma, Malignant Mesothelioma, Pleura, Peritoneum, Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Bodies, Occupational Exposure.

Related studies

• Chemical characterization of asbestos body cores by electron microprobe analysis — A.M. Langer, I.B. Rubin, et al. (1972)
• Pulmonary fibrosis, carcinoma, and ferruginous body counts in amosite asbestos workers. A study of six cases — V.L. Roggli, S.D. Greenberg, et al. (1980)
• Beryllium detection in human lung tissue using electron probe X-ray microanalysis — K.J. Butnor, T.A. Sporn, et al. (2003)
• Elemental analysis of asbestos fibers by means of electron probe techniques — I.A. Rubin, C.J. Maggiore (1974)
• Numbers of asbestos bodies on iron-stained tissue sections in relation to asbestos body counts in lung tissue digests — V.L. Roggli, P.C. Pratt (1983)
• Asbestos body concentrations in human lung: predictions from asbestos body counts in tissue sections with a mathematical model — R.T. Vollmer, V.L. Roggli (1985)

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