Discussion Summary - Rossiter

Our plain-English summary of Discussion Summary - Rossiter, by C.E. Rossiter (1973).

The study

• Author: C.E. Rossiter
• Published: BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ASBESTOS (J.C. WAGNER, EDITOR), LYON: IARC SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS, VOLUME 8, PP. 226-227 (1973)
• Type of article: Conference paper
• 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 not a research study. It is the author's summary of conference discussions on cancers in relation to fiber type, dose, duration of exposure and occupation. According to the summary, each fiber type had been associated with excess bronchogenic (lung) cancer under some circumstances, and each except anthophyllite with excess mesothelioma. Data on gastro-intestinal tumours did not allow fiber type to be assessed. Chrysotile mining and milling was described as much less hazardous than some manufacturing processes and the use of asbestos insulation materials. Reports mentioned included 10 mesothelioma cases among 1600 women assembling gas masks containing crocidolite in Great Britain. Another was a slight excess of lung cancer deaths, with no mesothelioma, among 270 ex-miners of an Italian chrysotile mine. Evidence from studies using dust exposure assessments, including assessments that were far from adequate, showed that excess bronchogenic cancer risk, and most probably mesothelioma risk, was related to dose and duration of exposure. Smoking was described as particularly important for lung cancer but probably not for mesothelioma. The summary also noted that autopsy series can be misleading.

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: Summary of conference discussions (not an original study); reports findings presented by various participants
• Who was studied: No study population of its own; the discussion covered groups including Quebec mining areas, 270 ex-miners of a Ballangero (Italy) chrysotile mine, 1600 women in a British gas-mask factory, Czechoslovak workers, an American textile plant, a national survey of insulation workers, a Netherlands mesothelioma register and a Zurich autopsy series
• Exposure: Asbestos fiber types (chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite), dose, duration of exposure and occupation (mining and milling, manufacturing, insulation work, shipyards)
• Main results:
  • Each fiber type had been associated with excess bronchogenic cancer under some circumstances. Each except anthophyllite had been associated with excess mesothelioma.
  • Data on gastro-intestinal tract tumours did not allow assessment of the role of fiber type
  • Great Britain: 10 cases of mesothelioma among 1600 women in a factory assembling gas masks containing crocidolite from Western Australia. Five of the cases were among the 200 most heavily exposed women.
  • Italy: a slight excess of lung cancer deaths and no mesothelioma cases among 270 ex-miners from a Ballangero chrysotile mine
  • Czechoslovakia, where only Russian chrysotile had been used: 54 asbestosis cases, eight lung cancer deaths and two mesothelioma deaths, described as showing an excess lung cancer risk
  • Studies using dust exposure assessments, even when those assessments were far from adequate, showed that excess bronchogenic cancer risk, and most probably mesothelioma risk, was related to dose and duration of exposure
  • In the national survey of insulation workers there were 1092 deaths. Of the 213 lung cancer cases, 186 had been listed on death certificates. An early excess of lung cancer, before amosite use began in 1935, was said to implicate chrysotile.
  • Netherlands: the mesothelioma register recorded 140 cases since 1969 in a population of 13 million, mainly from the major ports
  • Zurich area: an autopsy study found 25 mesothelioma cases out of 24,083 autopsies over 10 years. Only one case was associated with asbestosis.
  • Smoking was described as particularly important for lung cancer but probably not for mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The discussion concluded that the role of fiber type could now be answered with more assurance. It also stated that cancer risk differs greatly by occupation and is related to dose and duration of exposure. It said nobody could be content that the safe use of asbestos had been achieved.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Some of the dust exposure assessments in the studies were described as far from adequate
  • The Czechoslovak results should not yet be taken as definitive
  • Autopsy series can be misleading as a baseline

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Bronchogenic Carcinoma, Anthophyllite, Mesothelioma, Chrysotile, Crocidolite, Lung Cancer, Autopsy.

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