Malignant mesothelioma: health care awareness and preparedness

Our plain-English summary of Malignant mesothelioma: health care awareness and preparedness, by E.M. Capitani, E. Algranti (Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, 2022).

The study

• Authors: E.M. Capitani, E. Algranti
• Journal: Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia
• Published: 2022;48(5):e20220349
• Type of article: Editorial, Comment
• Language: Portuguese
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This article was a two-page editorial, not an original study. The authors commented on a separate retrospective study by Gregorio et al., published in the same journal issue. That study described the time from first symptoms to death in 66 patients (52 men and 14 women) with malignant pleural mesothelioma. As the editorial reported, a history of asbestos exposure was found for only 27 of the 66 patients (41%). The median time from first symptoms to referral to a specialized service was 6.5 months. Patients with a known asbestos exposure history were referred sooner than those without one (231.5 vs. 419.5 days). Of 40 patients biopsied at the specialized unit, 9 (22.5%) had false-negative results. The median time from first symptoms to the start of treatment was 9.7 months. The authors noted that the study was retrospective and descriptive, and that patients may misremember past asbestos exposure. They concluded that physicians need more diagnostic awareness and should follow guidelines on diagnostic procedures. They also stated that mesothelioma cases in Brazil were expected to begin increasing.

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: Editorial commenting on a separate retrospective descriptive study (Gregorio et al.) published in the same journal issue; no original data
• Who was studied: As described in the editorial: 66 patients (52 men and 14 women) with malignant pleural mesothelioma studied retrospectively by Gregorio et al.; the editorial does not give the study's location or dates
• Exposure: History of asbestos exposure, occupational or nonoccupational, as recorded in patient histories; no fiber types or doses are given
• Main results:
  • In the Gregorio et al. study, a history of asbestos exposure was retrieved for 27 of 66 patients (41%)
  • Median time from the onset of initial symptoms to referral to a specialized service was 6.5 months (Gregorio et al.)
  • Patients with a history of asbestos exposure had a significantly shorter time to referral than those without (231.5 vs. 419.5 days) (Gregorio et al.)
  • After specialized workup began, median time to histopathological diagnosis, staging and start of treatment was 3.2 months (Gregorio et al.)
  • It took less than 11 months from the beginning of treatment to death (Gregorio et al.)
  • 27 patients (40.9%) had pleural biopsies before referral, and one quarter of these were false-negative (Gregorio et al.)
  • Of 40 patients biopsied at the specialized unit, 9 (22.5%) had false-negative results, 8 by needle biopsy and 1 by surgical biopsy (Gregorio et al.)
  • Median time from the onset of initial symptoms to the beginning of specific treatment was 9.7 months (Gregorio et al.)
  • The editorial authors stated that because asbestos production and consumption in Brazil peaked in the late 1980s, an increase in mesothelioma incidence is expected to be beginning
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings point to a need for diagnostic awareness of mesothelioma among physicians and for following guidelines on appropriate diagnostic procedures
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The study discussed was retrospective and descriptive
  • Even when taken correctly, occupational histories can be flawed by patients' recall bias about past exposures

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Greater public awareness of health hazards of asbestos exposure — (1979)
• Improving outcomes in malignant pleural mesothelioma in an integrated health care system — S. Ossowski, Y.Y. Hung, et al. (2022)
• Managing malignant pleural mesothelioma: experience and perceptions of health care professionals caring for people with mesothelioma — A. Warby, H.M. Dhillon, et al. (2019)
• Prospective study of asbestos-related diseases incidence cases in primary health care in an area of Barcelona province — M. Rosell-Murphy, R. Abós-Herràndiz, et al. (2010)
• Should Canadian health care professionals support the call for a worldwide ban on asbestos? — J. Siemiatycki (2001)
• Spatial analysis of asbestos exposure and occupational health care in Poland during the period 2004-2013 — M. Krówczyńska, E. Wilk (2018)

Browse more research in Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia, or return to medical research.