Digestive System Cancer Among Persons Subjected to Occupational Inhalation of Asbestos Particles: A Literature Review with Emphasis on Dose Response (1974)

This was a literature review by a single author at the National Cancer Institute. It examined published studies of people who breathed in asbestos at work. It compared dose-response findings for digestive system cancer with those for cancer of the bronchus and lung. The author noted there were no direct epidemiologic data on possible cancer effects of swallowed asbestos, but that some inhaled asbestos reaches the digestive tract. The main dose data came from papers by McDonald and Enterline, measured in millions of particles per cubic foot-years. The author reported the human data showed a dose-response relationship for both lung and digestive tract cancer. Only one reviewed paper did not support the idea that more inhaled asbestos leads to more digestive system cancer. For digestive cancer to occur at the same rates as lung cancer, the author estimated a factor for converting inhaled to ingested dose of 1/20 to 1/1. For both lung and gastric (stomach) cancer, the author found no strong evidence of a threshold or a clearly safe level, and noted that good dose data were uncommon.

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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. 001287.