Incidence of Lung Cancer Among German Asbestos Workers (Translation) (1958)

This 1958 article examined how often lung cancer occurred with asbestosis (called LCA) among German asbestos workers. Counting published and reported cases, they found 18 LCA cases in Germany between 1938 and 1956, and they doubted higher rates drawn from English autopsy series. They then studied 517 asbestosis cases reported to silicosis statistics bureaus in Dresden, Jena and Swickau up to the end of 1956. Thirty-four of these people had died, and 11 had been autopsied, including five LCA cases. For about 500 asbestosis cases observed after age 50, compared with general-population rates for ages 50 to 79, the authors expected 6.3 lung cancer deaths over 20 years; the five observed LCA cases were below that. Of 1013 bronchial carcinoma cases reported to tumor control stations since 1952, 22 had worked in an asbestos plant, but only four had been exposed to the dust. None of the four was confirmed to have asbestosis. The authors concluded that LCA was not more frequent than lung cancer in the general population. From limited data, they said female asbestos workers' rate appeared equal to male workers'.

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. It is a copy from J-M's medical library.

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.