Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in an Asbestos Industry Worker: A Posthumous Case Report from Haryana, India

Our plain-English summary of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in an Asbestos Industry Worker: A Posthumous Case Report from Haryana, India, by H. Mann, A. Sau (Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2025).

The study

• Authors: H. Mann, A. Sau
• Journal: Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 2025;29(4):339-341
• Type of article: Case report
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer primarily associated with asbestos exposure, affecting the mesothelial lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. Despite global awareness, it remains relatively rare, with an age-standardized incidence of mesothelioma around 3 per million individuals, with Northern Europe exhibiting the highest rates. The occurrence is significantly higher in males compared to females. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) affects the pleura and often develops after years of asbestos exposure, silently progressing until symptoms appear. MPM predominantly affects men, with cases being more common in industries such as asbestos product manufacturing, construction, demolition, shipbreaking, and mining. In exposed populations, about 7-13 men per million develop the disease annually, while in those without asbestos exposure, it is rarer at 1-2 cases per million. In India, despite widespread asbestos use, mesothelioma cases remain underdiagnosed and underreported, highlighting the importance of a smart occupational health surveillance system.

Copyright: © 2026 Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

In plain English

This was a case report about one worker from Faridabad, Haryana, India, written after his death. The patient, a 65-year-old man, saw a physician in December 2016 with cough, shortness of breath, right-sided chest pain and weight loss. He had worked for almost 36 years, until retiring at age 60, at least 8 hours a day in a unit making asbestos-cement roof sheets. The authors reported that the asbestos used was predominantly chrysotile. Information gathered after his death gave no confirmation of exposure to crocidolite or other amphibole forms. He had never smoked. Imaging in January 2017 showed a large build-up of fluid around the right lung (pleural effusion), collapse of the right middle and lower lung lobes, and enlarged chest lymph nodes. A biopsy indicated sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. Despite chemotherapy, he died in October 2017. The authors concluded that the case is unique because reported mesothelioma cases among Indian asbestos workers are rare despite India's high asbestos consumption. They called for better diagnosis and disease surveillance.

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: Case report of a single patient, written after the patient's death
• Who was studied: One 65-year-old man from Faridabad, Haryana, India, who first saw a physician in December 2016 with symptoms that began in October 2016
• Exposure: Almost 36 years of work, until retirement at age 60, at least 8 hours per day in a cement asbestos roof sheet manufacturing unit. The work included handling raw materials, operating mixing and molding machinery, and quality inspection.
• Main results:
  • Based on information gathered after the patient's death, the authors judged the exposure most plausibly limited to chrysotile, the main raw material at the facility, with no verifiable evidence of amphibole asbestos.
  • The patient had no history of smoking, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, or chronic medical conditions.
  • Chest X-ray and CT scan on January 4, 2017 showed a large right-sided pleural effusion with complete collapse of the right middle and lower lung lobes. They also showed enlarged chest lymph nodes, the largest measuring 3.3 × 2.1 cm.
  • Biopsy of a pleural mass, with immunohistochemistry (Ki-67 and CK AE1/AE3 positivity), indicated sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma of the pleura.
  • CT scans of the brain and whole abdomen showed no signs of malignancy.
  • Despite chemotherapy, the patient died in October 2017.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the case is unique because reported mesothelioma cases among Indian asbestos workers are rare despite India's significant asbestos consumption. They wrote that it emphasizes the need for improved diagnostic vigilance, occupational disease surveillance and reporting, and preventive measures.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The exposure history was gathered after the patient's death from workplace history and exposure patterns, so exposure to crocidolite or other amphiboles could not be confirmed or ruled out.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Pleura.

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