Diffuse Mesothelioma of the Pleura and Asbestos

Abstract

A history of occupational exposure to asbestos was obtained in 32 out of 42 patients with mesothelioma of the pleura in Belfast. In 42 matched control patients of the same age and sex a history of exposure was obtained in only nine. Asbestos bodies were found at necropsy in the lungs of 14— of men aged 50 to 69 dying recently of diseases other than carcinoma of the bronchus and mesothelioma of the pleura. Asbestos bodies were found in the lungs of about 20% of patients dying with carcinoma of the lung. They were found in more than 80% of men dying of mesothelioma of the pleura. A history of an industrial occupation with exposure to asbestos was obtained from relatives, neighbours, or friends of about three-quarters of patients in whom asbestos bodies were found in the lungs at necropsy. Such a history was obtained for one-quarter of patients in whom asbestos bodies were not found in the lungs at necropsy. It is concluded that there is evidence that exposure to asbestos, even though it may have been transient and many years previous, is an important factor in the aetiology of mesothelioma of the pleura. This conclusion gives cause for anxiety because of the increasing commercial use of asbestos. © 1965, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.