The association of asbestos and malignancy

Our plain-English summary of The association of asbestos and malignancy, by J.G. Gillis (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 1965).

The study

• Author: J.G. Gillis
• Journal: Canadian Medical Association Journal
• Published: 1965;92(19):1034-5
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001516).

In plain English

This 1965 article was an unsigned editorial, not an original study. It reviewed earlier reports on asbestos and cancer. It cited a 1949 British factory-inspectorate series of 128 males and 107 females with asbestosis, in which lung cancer was found in 22 males and nine females (13%), a proportion later updated to 18%. It cited a 1955 report by Doll on 113 workers employed 20 years or more in dusty areas of the British asbestos industry, with 11 lung cancer deaths observed against 0.8 expected. It mentioned 11 cases of abdominal tumours associated with asbestos exposure found between 1958 and 1963, with minimal lung fibrosis. It also cited a South African report by Wagner of 33 cases of diffuse pleural mesothelioma, 28 of which had some association with the Cape asbestos field. The editorial stated that South African work implicated crocidolite in mesothelial tumours, while very little research had addressed chrysotile, the type mined in Canada. It listed questions a Canadian study could answer, including whether fibre type affects risk, and reported that such a study was being organized.

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: Editorial reviewing previously published reports; no original data
• Who was studied: No population of its own; the editorial discussed published British and South African series and the Canadian asbestos industry
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, with discussion of crocidolite (Cape Blue) and chrysotile (white asbestos)
• Main results:
  • Cited from the 1949 British Chief Inspector of Factories series (Merewether): lung cancer was found in 22 of 128 males and 9 of 107 females with asbestosis (13%). The editorial said this was later updated to 18%.
  • Cited from Doll (1955): among 113 workers employed 20 years or more in scheduled areas, 11 lung cancer deaths were observed against 0.8 expected, and 15 deaths from all cancers against 3.1 expected.
  • The editorial mentioned, without citing a source, 11 cases of abdominal tumours associated with asbestos exposure discovered between 1958 and 1963, with minimal lung fibrosis.
  • Cited from Wagner and colleagues: of 33 cases of diffuse pleural mesothelioma diagnosed in South Africa, 28 had some association with the Cape asbestos field and 4 had been exposed to asbestos in industry.
  • The editorial stated that very little research had been reported on chrysotile, the type of asbestos mined in Canada.
• The authors' conclusion: The editorial stated that the evidence in man indicates fibre type is of great importance for these tumours. It called for a Canadian study and reported that one was being organized by the Occupational Health Division of the Department of National Health and Welfare.

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• Asbestos-related malignancy — J.A. Talcott, K.H. Antman (1988)
• Asbestos-related malignancy — K.H. Antman (1986)
• Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal surface malignancy: experience with 1,000 patients — E.A. Levine, J.H. Stewart, et al. (2014)
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