Category: Asbestos Exposure
Even Brief Exposure to Asbestos May Cause Mesothelioma
A recent report in theInternational Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health describes the case of a 58-year-old man who developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets during a high school summer job.
Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung, chest cavity and abdominal cavity, is a signature disease of asbestos exposure. According to the article, the man was exposed to crocidolite asbestos starting at age 16 during three summers and for approximately four hours a day during his senior year of high school. He had no further known exposure to asbestos.
Laboratory analysis of samples of lung tissue revealed elevated levels of crocidolite asbestos fibers. The case helps establish that relatively short and/or intense exposure to crocidolite can lead to asbestos disease.
Crocidolite is one of the six naturally-occurring fibrous minerals that are currently regulated as “asbestos.” Asbestos had many commercial applications, including building materials, auto parts and industrial gaskets. But its use was reduced in the last 1970s because of the occupational hazard it posed to workers. All forms of asbestos cause cancer, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, according to the World Health Organization.
It is estimated that between 1940 and 1980, 27 million Americans has significant occupational exposure to asbestos in their workplaces. Exposure to asbestos may cause mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen, as well as lung cancer and asbestosis, a scarring of the lung that causes breathing problems. Chrysotile is the most common form of asbestos while crocidolite is considering among the most deadly.
Approximately, 2,500 to 3,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. For most, the symptoms appear 20 years to 50 years after exposure. There is no known cure for mesothelioma, but there are treatment options available including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to manage the cancer.
Cancer Genetics Symposium Planned in Hawaii to Focus on Mesothelioma
Researchers in cancer genetics will gather in Hawaii in December to discuss the recent discovery of the BAP1 genetic mutation and its link to mesothelioma, melanoma and possibly other cancers. The University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the Queen’s Medical Center will host the international symposium on Dec. 2
Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdominal cavity, is typically associated with exposure to asbestos or erionite, a mineral fiber similar to asbestos. Microscopic fibers of asbestos are inhaled and may remain deep in the lung, causing inflammation, scarring and eventually disease.
The third annual Translational Cancer Medicine Symposium will feature more than 20 global experts on cancer genetics including Carol M. Croce, M.D., Director of the Human Cancer Genetics Program at Ohio State University; Joseph Testa, Ph.D., Director of the Genomics Facility at Fox Chase Cancer Center and Michele Carbone, M.D., Director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
A mesothelioma research team at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center led by Carbone announced in August the discovery of BAP1 gene mutation’s link to mesothelioma and other cancers. It is the first study to demonstration that family genetics can influence susceptibility to mesothelioma.
“We are excited to bring these experts to Hawaii to work together to find ways to reduce the suffering and death caused by this mutation,” Cabone said in a prepared statement issued by the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
Mesothelioma causes the deaths of about 2,500 to 3,000 people a year in the United States and tens of thousands worldwide. People typically develop mesothelioma symptoms 20 years to 50 years after exposure to asbestos, though only a portion of those exposed to asbestos develops mesothelioma. Rates of new cases of mesothelioma in parts of the world including Europe and China, have risen steadily in the past decade.
The identification of the BAP1 cancer syndrome, caused by an inherited mutation of the BAP1 gene, offers a new tool to identify people at high risk of developing mesothelioma. It may lead to early detection of the cancer and benefit people who have an occupational hazard of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. When individuals with the BAP1 mutation are exposed to asbestos, mesothelioma may cause the death of 50 percent of the family members—a far greater incidence than in the population at large, the researchers found.
Projected Rise of Asbestos Disease in South Korea During 21st Century
The number of people dying of mesothelioma is near its peak in the United States. But in many Asian countries, the wave of asbestos-related deaths is just starting to build. The Ministry of Environment in South Korea projected the number of people suffering from malignant mesothelioma will continue increasing until 2045, according to the Korea Herald.
Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer of the lining of the lung, chest cavity and abdomen linked to inhaling asbestos fibers. It is a preventable disease if exposure to asbestos is avoided. Mesothelioma sufferers typically develop symptoms of the respiratory disease 20 years to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos. Many patients are older workers, veterans or retirees.
According to the report, the number of mesothelioma patients in South Korea increased from 61 in 1996 to 152 in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from asbestos exposure more than doubled from 24 in 2001 to 57 in 2006. By comparison, approximately 2,500 to 3,000 people die each year of mesothelioma in the United States.
In Japan, researchers have observed an increase in cases of mesothelioma starting in 2000. Japan banned asbestos in 2005. The incidence of mesothelioma in Japan is expected to peak around 2030.
In Korea, a new law regulating asbestos use will take effect in 2012 and reduce the occupational hazard of asbestos. The National Institute of Environmental Research expects the regulations to prevent up to 20,000 deaths from asbestos disease a year.
Asbestos was widely used in many building materials in the United States for much of the 20th century, even though the health hazards of asbestos were well understood. The U.S. finally began restricting the use of asbestos in the late 1970s.
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Victims of Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Have Rights to Compensation
People who are diagnosed with health problems such as mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer, may be entitled to compensation from companies that manufactured asbestos. Exposure to asbestos is strongly associated with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lung.
A new report by the General Accounting Office, a government agency, estimates that 27 million to 100 million people in the United States have been exposed to asbestos with peak usage of the mineral fiber occurring around 1973. During the 20th century, asbestos was widely used in commercial and household applications because of its insulating and flame-retardant properties. Many workers had an occupational hazard of asbestos exposure.
The GAO report notes that as early as 1900, asbestos was recognized as a cause of occupational disease. By 1960, the link between asbestos and mesothelioma—a cancer of the lining of the lungs, chest and abdomen—was established, the government report says. Even so, manufacturers continued to sell asbestos and allow people to be harmed by asbestos products.
Mesothelioma was not recorded as a separate cause of death on death certificates until 1999 and is still not recorded as a cause of death in all states. That suggests that the number of deaths due to mesothelioma has likely been undercounted. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 people die of mesothelioma each year in the U.S, according to federal health researchers.
Asbestos manufacturers are liable for the harm caused by exposure to asbestos products because the manufacturers knew or should have foreseen the dangers of asbestos, but failed to disclosed them. Many asbestos manufacturers have created asbestos personal injury trust funds to compensate victims of mesothelioma and asbestos disease. Since 1988, 60 trust funds have been established. According to the GAO analysis, the asbestos trusts have paid about 3.3 million claims valued at about $17.5 billion dollars. In 2010, the trusts paid 461,000 claims totaling $3 billion.
A mesothelioma victim in New York may work with an experienced mesothelioma attorney to submit to an asbestos personal injury trust a claim with supporting documents showing evidence of exposure to asbestos products and diagnosis of a specific disease. A knowledgeable New York mesothelioma lawyer will have records of many employers that used asbestos. The trust may make the mesothelioma victim an offer of compensation that is a percentage of the full value of the claim. A knowledgeable mesothelioma lawyer can offer advice on legal options including accepting the offer or filing a personal injury lawsuit seeking the full value of the harm suffered.
Cases of Mesothelioma Disease on the Rise, World Health Organization Warns
A recent bulletin published by the World Health Organization estimates that 92,252 people around the world died of mesothelioma in the 15-year period from 1994 through 2008. Two-thirds of those deaths have occurred since the year 2000 and the incidence of mesothelioma is on the rise, the report said. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and largely preventable form of cancer associated with breathing asbestos fibers.
A preponderance of the mesothelioma deaths analyzed by the WHO involved pleural mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the lining of the lung and chest cavity. Pleural mesothelioma is seen far more often than peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the abdomen caused by ingesting asbestos dust. Pericardial mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the heart, is rarer still.
Mesothelioma is slow growing and symptoms typically appear 30 years or longer after initial exposure to asbestos. Many mesothelioma sufferers are retired workers or veterans. The median survival after diagnosis is typically 9 to 12 months and the median age at death 70.
Of the 92,252 recorded mesothelioma deaths, the vast majority occurred in high income industrialized countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and countries in Western Europe, the report said. The countries with the highest cumulative mesothelioma deaths tended to be the countries that were the largest users of asbestos. They also are more diligent in recording mesothelioma deaths.
Underreporting is a common problem with rare diseases such as mesothelioma that are difficult to diagnose. The actual number of mesothelioma deaths is likely much higher, the researchers acknowledged. Some countries such as China, India, Thailand and the Russian Federation that are large users of asbestos did not provide mesothelioma death data to the World Health Organization.
The use of asbestos has been strictly limited in the United States since the late 1970s and it has been banned in many European nations. Still, many workers such as construction workers, electricians, plumbers and demolition workers face an occupational hazard of asbestos exposure in the workplace. The WHO said the burden of mesothelioma may be gradually shifting to developing countries that used asbestos more recently and those countries should prepare for an increase in the number of mesothelioma deaths in coming decades.
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