Quantitative analysis of asbestos burden in women with mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Quantitative analysis of asbestos burden in women with mesothelioma, by R.F. Dodson, M. O'Sullivan, D.R. Brooks, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2003).

The study

• Authors: R.F. Dodson, M. O'Sullivan, D.R. Brooks, S.P. Hammar
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2003;43(2):188-95
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: Lung tissue from 15 women who died from mesothelioma was evaluated for tissue burden of ferruginous bodies and uncoated asbestos fibers. The group contained individuals who had occupational exposure to asbestos and others had family members whose work history included vocations where contact with asbestos containing materials occurred.

Methods: Tissue samples from tumor free lung were digested and filtered and then investigated for ferruginous bodies by light microscopy and asbestos and non-asbestos fibers by analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). Size and type of fibers were also analyzed.

Results: Asbestos bodies were found in 13 of the 15 samples and asbestos fibers were found in all cases. The most commonly found uncoated asbestos fiber in these individuals was amosite whereas tremolite was the second most commonly found form. The asbestos fiber burden in these females was often of mixed types.

Conclusions: The asbestos body and fiber burden in these cases show variation in tissue burden. Some cases in this study had appreciable burden, which was attributed to secondhand exposure from occupationally exposed family members. Mesothelioma can occur also in individuals with comparatively low tissue burdens of asbestos.

Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In plain English

The authors measured asbestos in lung tissue taken at autopsy from 15 women, aged 59 to 93, who had died of mesothelioma. All of the tumors began in the pleura, the lining around the lungs. The women's exposures ranged from their own work with asbestos to household contact through family members' work. The authors examined tumor-free lung tissue under light and electron microscopes. Asbestos (ferruginous) bodies were found in 13 of the 15 women, and uncoated asbestos fibers were found in all 15. Amosite was the most common fiber (12 women), followed by tremolite (nine). Chrysotile was found in four women and crocidolite in one. Three household-exposed women were among the four with the lowest fiber levels; the lowest was a former shipyard worker. The woman with the third-highest levels had no primary exposure; her husband worked at a plant making crocidolite pipe products. Fourteen women had levels in the bottom third of the authors' earlier series of 55 mesothelioma cases, mostly men (53 of 55) with workplace asbestos exposure. The authors concluded that mesothelioma occurs with non-occupational exposure and with lower tissue asbestos burdens.

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 series measuring lung tissue asbestos burden. Tumor-free autopsy lung tissue was digested and examined by light microscopy for ferruginous bodies and by analytical transmission electron microscopy for asbestos and non-asbestos fibers.
• Who was studied: Autopsy material from 15 women with a pathological diagnosis of mesothelioma, aged 59 to 93 at death. The article does not state where or when the women lived or died.
• Exposure: Some women had occupational exposure to asbestos, for example shipyard work or a brake-shoe factory. Others were exposed through family members whose work involved asbestos-containing materials, including contaminated work clothing brought home.
• Main results:
  • All tumors arose in the pleura; 10 of the 15 were in the right pleura.
  • Asbestosis was confirmed in only two of the 15 women (Cases 4 and 8).
  • Ferruginous bodies were found in 13 of the 15 women. Seven women had over 1,000 per gram of dry lung tissue, and none were detected in two women (Cases 5 and 12).
  • All 15 women had uncoated asbestos fibers in their lungs. Amosite was found in 12 of the 15 (80%).
  • Tremolite was the second most common asbestos fiber, found in nine of the 15 women (60%).
  • Chrysotile was found in four of the 15 women (26.6%).
  • Crocidolite was found in only one woman (Case 15) and was the only asbestos type in her lungs. Her exposure was as a domestic bystander to her spouse, who worked at a plant making crocidolite-containing pipe products.
  • Case 15, who had no primary exposure to asbestos, had the third highest numbers of ferruginous bodies and uncoated asbestos fibers in the group.
  • In Table II, the four lowest totals of uncoated asbestos fibers per gram of dry lung tissue were: Case 9 (20,235), Case 14 (26,352), Case 12 (33,553) and Case 5 (50,914).
  • The authors describe Cases 5, 12 and 14 as women whose primary exposures came from household contacts. Case 9, the lowest in Table II, had herself worked as a shipyard worker and janitor.
  • The authors' earlier series of 55 mesothelioma cases, used for comparison, consisted primarily of men (53 of 55) who had histories of workplace exposure to asbestos products.
  • Compared with that earlier series, the woman with the highest levels (Case 4) fell in its upper third; the other 14 women fell within its bottom third for asbestos body and uncoated fiber burdens.
  • Non-asbestos fibers were also measured. In seven of the 15 cases (46.6%), the non-asbestos fiber burden was higher than the asbestos fiber burden.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their data support the concept that mesothelioma occurs in people with non-occupational asbestos exposure and in people with lower tissue burdens of asbestos bodies and uncoated asbestos fibers.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Amosite, Crocidolite, Lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Tremolite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Ferruginous Bodies, Occupational Exposure, Work History, Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy (ATEM), Asbestos Bodies, Amosite, Tremolite.

Related studies

• Lung mineral fibers of former miners and millers from Thetford-Mines and asbestos regions: a comparative study of fiber concentration and dimension — A. Nayebzadeh, A. Dufresne, et al. (2001)
• Quantitative analysis of asbestos burden in a series of individuals with lung cancer and a history of exposure to asbestos — R.F. Dodson, D.R. Brooks, et al. (2004)
• Mineral phases and some reexamined characteristics of the International Union Against Cancer standard asbestos samples — N. Kohyama, Y. Shinohara, et al. (1996)
• Asbestos burden in cases of mesothelioma from individuals from various regions of the United States — R.F. Dodson, R. Graef, et al. (2005)
• Final results from a 90-day quantitative inhalation toxicology study evaluating the dose-response and fate in the lung and pleura of chrysotile-containing brake dust compared to TiO2, chrysotile, crocidolite or amosite asbestos: Histopathological examination, confocal microscopy and collagen quantification of the lung and pleural cavity — D.M. Bernstein, B. Toth, et al. (2021)
• Fiber burden and patterns of asbestos-related disease in workers with heavy mixed amosite and chrysotile exposure — A. Churg, S. Vedal (1994)

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