Epidemiological and quantitative relationships between mesothelioma and asbestos on Tyneside

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RESUMO

Thirty-five necropsied cases of diffuse malignant mesothelioma of pleura and six cases of mesothelioma of peritoneum are reported. Occupational histories from 40 cases showed that 32 cases (80%) were definitely exposed to asbestos; six cases (15%) were probably exposed and two (5%) had no known exposure. The mean latent interval was 34 years. Occupational histories of 56 control patients matched in pairs for age and sex with 28 of the mesothelioma cases revealed definite exposure to asbestos in 12 controls (21%), probable exposure in 11 (20%), and no evidence of exposure in 33 (59%). The difference in incidence of exposure between mesotheliomas and controls is statistically highly significant. Six-micron histological sections of lung, available in 39 mesothelioma cases, contained coated asbestos fibres in 36 cases (92%). Sixteen cases of mesothelioma showing fibres were free of asbestosis; asbestosis was slight in 14 cases, moderately severe in five cases, and severe in one case. The incidence of asbestos bodies in sections from mesothelioma cases was significantly higher than in a previously reported series of routine necropsies examined by lung smear.

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