Asbestosis and Lung Cancer (Translation) (1944)

This short article by H.-W. Wedler pooled published autopsy reports of people with asbestosis to see how often lung and pleural cancers were found. In 29 autopsies in Germany there were four bronchial cancers and two malignant pleural tumors, about 20 percent. Gloyne's English figures gave 12 percent, though English autopsy numbers could not be counted as reliably as German ones. The American literature gave two bronchial cancers in 13 autopsies. Altogether, 14 malignant lung and pleural tumors were found in 92 autopsies, which the author gave as 16 percent. The author compared this with about 2 to 6 percent in large general autopsy statistics. Women were affected relatively often, though they made up most workers in most asbestos plants. Some patients were aged 35 to 41. The cancers were mainly squamous cell carcinomas, often in the lower lobes, where asbestosis changes were most severe. The author reported that 12 to 42 years passed between starting work in asbestos dust and detection of the cancer. The author concluded that lung cancer with asbestosis should be regarded as an occupational disease for insurance purposes.

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.

From J-M's medical library

This copy comes from the Johns-Manville medical library. J-M listed it in its medical library index as no. 005204. Barry Castleman cites it in chapter 2, "Cancer", of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects (5th ed., 2005); see Reading Castleman.

We publish this piece for research and commentary: it shows what the medical literature in a leading asbestos company's own library said on the subject, and when. Our summary above is our own reading of it. The copyright stays with the publisher.