RE main asbestos type in pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of RE main asbestos type in pleural mesothelioma, by P. Dumortier, P. De Vuyst, F. Rey, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1998).

The study

• Authors: P. Dumortier, P. De Vuyst, F. Rey, C. Boutin
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1998;33(1):94-6
• Type of article: Comment, Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a letter to the editor, not a new study. The authors responded to a 1996 report by Smith and Wright titled "Chrysotile Asbestos Is the Main Cause of Pleural Mesothelioma." First, they disputed its claim that chrysotile fibrils can be too thin to see by electron microscopy. They stated that transmission electron microscopy can detect chrysotile fibers down to 0.01 µm in diameter and 0.5 µm in length. Second, they agreed that pleural fiber studies matter more than lung studies for pleural disease. But they argued that the cited studies showed most chrysotile reaching the parietal pleura was shorter than 4 or 5 µm, and that amphiboles also reach it. They cited a 1990 study by Dodson and colleagues: in pleural plaque samples, 10% of amphibole fibers were longer than 5 µm and 8% longer than 10 µm, against 3.1% and 0% of chrysotile fibers. The authors restated their own 1996 findings that long amphibole fibers can be found in high concentration in "black spots" of the parietal pleura, close to early pleural plaques. They said this is consistent with an uneven distribution of asbestos fibers, particularly amphiboles, in the parietal pleura.

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: Letter to the editor commenting on a published report (Smith and Wright, 1996); no new study data
• Who was studied: No new study population. The letter discusses previously published lung and pleural fiber-content studies. A figure shows parietal pleura from one 80-year-old man at autopsy, who died of lung cancer.
• Exposure: Chrysotile and amphibole asbestos fibers found in lung tissue, parietal pleura and pleural plaques. The figure case had prolonged asbestos exposure as a boiler operator for 34 years.
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that transmission electron microscopy can detect, identify and count chrysotile fibers with diameters down to 0.01 µm and lengths down to 0.5 µm. They disputed the claim that thin fibrils are invisible.
  • In the authors' reading of the pleural studies cited by Smith and Wright, most chrysotile fibers reaching the parietal pleura were shorter than 4 or 5 µm, and amphiboles also reached this location.
  • Citing Sébastien et al. (1980): in one case with significant amounts of amphiboles, 41% of them were longer than 4 µm.
  • Citing Dodson et al. (1990): in pleural plaque samples, 10% of amphibole fibers were longer than 5 µm and 8% longer than 10 µm. For chrysotile fibers the figures were 3.1% and 0%.
  • Citing Le Bouffant (1980): the median percentage of chrysotile among total asbestos fibers in parietal pleura was 33%, so chrysotile was not the predominant type there. The authors described that report as difficult to interpret.
  • Restating the authors' own 1996 study: long amphibole fibers can be found in high concentration in the parietal pleura. They appear to be selectively concentrated in "black spots" that also trap other particles, and these spots can lie in very close contact with early pleural plaques.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors said their findings contrast with earlier studies of randomly selected pleural samples, which showed chrysotile as the preponderant fiber. They said their findings are consistent with a heterogeneous distribution of asbestos fibers, particularly amphiboles, in the parietal pleura.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Chrysotile asbestos is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma — A.H. Smith, C.C. Wright (1996)
• Cancer mortality in chrysotile miners and millers, Russian Federation: main results (Asbest Chrysotile Cohort-Study) — J. Schüz, E. Kovalevskiy, et al. (2024)
• Black spots concentrate oncogenic asbestos fibers in the parietal pleura. Thoracoscopic and mineralogic study — C. Boutin, P. Dumortier, et al. (1996)
• Inspection of deteriorating asbestos cement force mains with georadar technique — S. Smolders, L. Verhoest, et al. (2009)
• Chrysotile and tremolite asbestos fibres in the lungs and parietal pleura of Corsican goats — P. Dumortier, F. Rey, et al. (2002)
• Relationship between lung asbestos fiber type and concentration and relative risk of mesothelioma. A case-control study — A.J. Rogers, J. Leigh, et al. (1991)

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