Coexistence of a Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma and Asbestos Exposure

Abstract

A 59-year-old male died of malignant fibrous histiocytoma. He had a history of asbestos exposure as a shipfitter in the Japanese Naval Shipyard and other shipyards for 45 years. Numerous asbestos bodies were detected in the autopsied lung and within the lesion. X-ray analysis of the asbestos fibers showed them to be crocidolite, a type of asbestos fiber commonly seen in association with mesothelioma and other types of cancer. This case adds malignant fibrous histiocytoma to the growing number of tumors that can be attributed etiologically to asbestos exposure.