Asbestos Related Lung Cancer - Facts You Should Know

By Linda Day  |   Submitted On September 19, 2008

  

The link between asbestos and lung cancer is well established today. However, this was not always the case. For many decades, asbestos was considered to be a miracle mineral. It is an excellent insulator and this was one of its primary uses. Asbestos was also incorporated into a wide range of products manufactured.

Suspicions that asbestos exposure could cause serious health problems existed as far back as the last decade of the nineteenth century. It is thought that those interested in promoting asbestos consumption acted to discredit such reports.

By 1931, the British government had concluded that asbestos was possibly harmful to the body and took steps to ensure safety of those handling asbestos. The US government undertook similar actions during the 1970s.

Unfortunately, by that time, many thousands of people had their lives seriously affected by asbestos related lung cancer and other health problems. Asbestos was widely used in factories, homes and elsewhere.

Asbestos causes problems like scarring in the lungs, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques. It also causes a deadly, aggressive type of cancer called mesothelioma.

Unlike normal lung cancer which affects the tissues of the lung itself, mesothelioma affects the lining around the lungs called the pleura. This type of cancer arises almost only due to asbestos exposure.

Even a short exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma. Further, the cancer can show up several decades after the asbestos exposure.

As with most lung-related cancers, smoking increases the odds of contracting mesothelioma significantly. Some studies indicate that a smoker who has been exposed to asbestos has 50 to 90 times the chances of developing mesothelioma and other cancers of the lung, when compared to a non-smoker with similar asbestos exposure. A non-smoker who has been exposed to asbestos has about 5 times higher chance of developing mesothelioma compared to people who were never exposed to asbestos.

If you have had any exposure to asbestos either in the workplace or elsewhere, you should have regular screenings to detect any abnormalities in the lung. And this should be continued because lung cancer can show up as late as 50 years after the asbestos exposure. Early diagnosis of lung cancer offers the best hope for survival.

Diagnostic methods for detecting asbestos related lung cancers include going through a patient's medical history as well as performing chest x-rays, MRI scans, CAT scans, tissue sampling and biopsy.

The outlook for those diagnosed with mesothelioma (and other types of lung cancers) is generally not encouraging. In some cases, the life expectancy for someone diagnosed with mesothelioma may be as little as 2-3 months. Multi-treatment methods used in some clinical trials have managed to significantly enhance life expectancy -- one such trial achieved a 40% survival rate at five years.

Treatment for mesothelioma often combines chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. In many cases though, surgery may be ruled out because the cancer is diagnosed at a late stage. There are new chemotherapy treatments available that seem promising.

The first drug developed specifically to treat mesothelioma was Alimta, which was approved by the Food and Drugs Administration in 2004. When Alimta is used in combination with Cisplatin, which is also a drug used to treat cancers, it was found to increase patients' life expectancy. There is intensive research going on to produce a cure for these aggressive asbestos related cancers and these efforts may eventually produce a reliable cure.

Linda Day is a researcher who has written about the types of lung cancer, the smoking lung cancer connection and other related topics. To learn more about this disease, visit the previous links.

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Asbestos-Linked Lung Cancer

By David Smidev  |   Submitted On February 01, 2010

  

Exposure to asbestos in the place of work, mainly in shipyards, has long been known as a risk factor for mesothelioma, an uncommon kind of cancer having an effect on the lining of the lung. However in the new study, researchers discovered a consistent and dose-dependent connection between mesothelioma and residential proximity to ultramafic rock, the main source of naturally occurring asbestos.

To place the mesothelioma risk in perspective, the illness is in charge for about the same number of lung cancer deaths yearly as passive smoking. According to National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health statistics, in the United States approximately 2,500 people a year die from mesothelioma. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics, approximately 3,000 deaths from the disease are attributed to exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke yearly.

Asbestos-linked lung disease arose at very high rates toward the middle of the 20th century, when sufferers who were exposed decades earlier to asbestos ultimately developed disease. British asbestos workers were amongst the first who were detected to suffer lung cancer linked to asbestos. A dose-response association subsists both for the degree of asbestos exposure and the sum of cigarette smoking.

The risk of the cancer and mesothelioma raises with the amount of fibers inhaled. Though the majority asbestos-linked cancers are related to the intensity and duration of exposure, reports in medical journals have connected a number of mesotheliomas to short exposure periods, on the order of months.

Cigarette smoking leads to nearly all lung cancers, but long-term exposure to asbestos is a cause of the disease as well. However, individuals who smoke and have been exposed to asbestos have a very high risk of expanding the disease.

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Mesothelioma Cancer - Lung Cancer From Asbestos Exposure

By Slaton Case  |   Submitted On December 10, 2009

  

Mesothelioma cancer is a rare form of cancer that has been attributed to the exposure to asbestos fibers. Many medical professionals believe that mesothelioma cancer can only be contracted through the inhalation of asbestos into the lungs; practically all cases of mesothelioma cancer have been connected with workers whose jobs have exposed them to abnormally high levels of asbestos.

Mesothelioma is a very rare form of cancer that has approximately 4000 reported cases each year in the United States. Mesothelioma cancer can be broken down into three subcategories: Peritoneal mesothelioma, Pleural mesothelioma, and Pericardeal mesothelioma. Of the three, Pleural mesothelioma cancer is responsible for 75% of all mesothelioma cases.

The types of cancer are named after where each is located in the body. For example, Pleural mesothelioma is found in the cavities inside the chest which surround the lungs. These areas are called the pleural cavities; the pleura is the thin membrane sac which contains the lungs.

Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the peritoneum, a thin cell membrane which surrounds the gastrointestinal tract. The peritoneum helps lubricate the stomach and intestines, helping the body properly digest food. Peritoneal mesothelioma composes approximately 15-20% of all diagnosed cases of mesothelioma cancer in the United States.

Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest of all diagnosed cases. The pericardium is the protective sac around the heart. The main function of the pericardium is to lubricate the heart, allowing the muscle to work at a more efficient level. This type of mesothelioma only composes 5% of all diagnosed cases.

As with all cancers, mesothelioma in it's various forms is simply the uncontrolled growth of cells. Typically, cells in the body grow and then die, however cancer cells grow unabated and are typically damaged by radiation or some chemical change. Mesothelioma cancer is caused by asbestos fiber entering the body through inhalation; once inside the body the asbestos fibers cut the protective sacs surrounding the organs. Mesothelium are small cells which help lubricate the pleura, peritoneum, and pericardium. These small cells become cancerous and rapidly expand, preventing the vital functions of the affected organs.

Mesothelioma can take decades to develop after an initial exposure to asbestos occurs. This prevents many people from recognizing the warning signs that they might be developing the disease. Each of the forms mentioned above has a different sets of symptoms, many of which match less serious diseases. The prognosis for mesothelioma found early is longer than cases caught later in their development, however the mortality rate for mesothelioma is notoriously high. Medical breakthroughs are attempting to increase the life expectancy and quality of life for sufferers of mesothelioma, however there is currently no cure.

People who worked in an environment with heavy amounts of asbestos or who were exposed to asbestos fibers at any point are at risk for developing mesothelioma. The various types of mesothelioma cancer have different symptoms, so if you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos please find more information about your symptoms.

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