Mesothelioma Associated With Asbestos: A Report Of 3 Cases

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma Associated With Asbestos: A Report Of 3 Cases, by R.H. Mann, J.L. Grosh, W.M. O'Donnell (1966).

The study

• Authors: R.H. Mann, J.L. Grosh, W.M. O'Donnell
• Published: Cancer 19(4):521-526, April (1966)
• Type of article: Journal article
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library, J-M no. 001507. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This article was a report of three cases of mesothelioma from the Departments of Medicine and Pathology at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Among 51 autopsies of patients with pathologic evidence of asbestosis at the hospital, 22 patients had bronchogenic carcinoma and 3 had mesothelioma of the peritoneum. One of the three also had mesothelioma of the pleura, which was recognized only under the microscope. Two of the three men had worked in a local asbestos textile plant that wove, carded and spun asbestos, for 20 and 34 years. Their mesotheliomas were recognized 38 and 35 years after first known exposure. The authors had no information confirming that the third man had worked in the plant. His asbestosis was at first overlooked and was found only when his lung sections were reviewed. All three had pulmonary asbestosis. Asbestos bodies were not found in the peritoneum, the tumors, the parietal pleura or the lymph nodes. The authors stated that their hospital had not seen a case of mesothelioma without asbestosis. They concluded that a causal relationship with peritoneal mesothelioma seemed acceptable.

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 series (report of 3 cases) drawn from a review of autopsies of patients with pulmonary asbestosis at one hospital
• Who was studied: 51 autopsied patients with pathologic evidence of asbestosis at Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in a period ending in 1965 (the start year is garbled in the scan). The report describes the 3 of these patients, all men, who had mesothelioma.
• Exposure: Occupational exposure to asbestos dust in a local asbestos textile plant that wove, carded and spun asbestos: 20 years (1926 to 1946) for Case I and 34 years (1929 to 1963) for Case II. The third patient had no known industrial exposure. No fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • Of the 51 autopsied patients with asbestosis, 22 had bronchogenic carcinoma and 3 had peritoneal mesothelioma. One of those 3 also had pleural mesothelioma.
  • Case I, a male factory worker who had worked in an asbestos plant from 1926 to 1946, had diffuse malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum and moderately advanced pulmonary asbestosis at autopsy.
  • Case II, an asbestos worker since 1929, had diffuse malignant mesothelioma involving both the peritoneum and the pleura, together with pulmonary asbestosis.
  • In Case II the pleural involvement was recognized only on microscopic study.
  • Case III, a 60-year-old man with no known industrial exposure, had diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and pulmonary asbestosis. His asbestosis was initially overlooked and was found on review of the lung sections.
  • In Cases I and II the mesotheliomas were recognized 38 and 35 years, respectively, after first known exposure.
  • In all three patients asbestos bodies were found in the lungs. None were found in the peritoneum, the peritoneal mesotheliomas, the parietal pleura, or the hilar or abdominal lymph nodes.
  • The authors stated that their hospital had not seen a case of mesothelioma without asbestosis.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that peritoneal mesothelioma is so infrequent except in association with asbestosis that a causal relationship seemed acceptable. They thought asbestos can produce mesothelioma of either the peritoneum or the pleura.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors had no information confirming that the third patient had been employed in the local asbestos plant.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Pathology, Bronchogenic Carcinoma, Peritoneum, Pleura, Asbestosis, Asbestos Bodies, Parietal Pleura.

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