Danger of Lung Cancer in Asbestos Workers

Our plain-English summary of Danger of Lung Cancer in Asbestos Workers (1964).

The study

• Published: Science News Letter, October 31,1964
• Type of article: Trade journal article
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This is a short 1964 news item in Science News Letter, not a research paper. It reported on a New York Academy of Sciences conference in New York City on the biological effects of asbestos. Asbestos workers were described as in great danger of lung cancer and of asbestosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos dust. The conference was told that cancer in these workers was believed related to asbestos dust exposure. Dr. Selikoff of Mount Sinai Hospital described a study of more than 1,500 asbestos insulation workers in New York and New Jersey. Its figures for deaths, cancer deaths and asbestosis deaths cannot be read in the scanned text. Dr. Smither of the Asbestos Research Council, London, reported a definite increase in lung cancer among workers at an east end London asbestos factory. Dr. Smither also reported a relatively high number of cancers starting in the pleura and peritoneum. A University of Cape Town researcher reported autopsies of 500 people over 15 in Cape Town and 500 in Miami. Asbestos bodies were seen in many lung smears.

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.

What the study did and found

• Design: news report of presentations at a scientific conference (not an original study)
• Who was studied: Several groups described by different speakers: more than 1,500 asbestos insulation workers in New York and New Jersey (Selikoff); workers at an east end London asbestos factory (Smither); autopsies of 500 persons over 15 years of age in Cape Town and 500 in Miami, Florida (University of Cape Town researcher)
• Exposure: Asbestos dust, in asbestos insulation work, asbestos factory work, and among city dwellers; no fiber types were named
• Main results:
  • Dr. Smither reported a definite increase in lung cancer among workers at an east end London asbestos factory
  • Dr. Smither described a relatively high number of cancers starting in the pleura and peritoneum as a surprising discovery
  • Autopsies of 500 persons over 15 in Cape Town and 500 in Miami showed asbestos bodies in many lung smears
• The authors' conclusion: The article reported that the conference was told that cancer in asbestos workers is believed related to exposure to asbestos dust

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Insulator, Pleura, Peritoneum, Asbestos Bodies.

Browse return to medical research.