Malignant mesothelioma: clustering in a family producing asbestos cement in their home.

Abstract

In a family with a remarkable aggregation of malignant mesothelioma the father, mother, and a son all died of the condition, whereas two other sons and a daughter were unaffected. From 1944 to 1961 the family produced a material that was used to fix screws in drilled holes and consisted of amosite, gypsum, and sand. It was produced in the basement of their villa and was described as being a dusty job. The father died in 1984 aged 74, the son in 1985 aged 45, and the mother in 1987 aged 79. It is concluded that there is a high risk ofmalignant mesothelioma after massive exposure to amosite and the risk and latency period are independent of age during the exposure. Malignant mesothelioma is rare in Denmark, constituting less than 0-3% of all cases of cancer. ' The association between exposure to asbestos and the development of malignant mesothelioma is well

Mesothelioma in blood related subjects: Report of 11 clusters among 1954 Italy cases and review of the literature

“…In men, the mean age at diagnosis (58.8 years) was consistent with occupational exposure and adult age at first exposure; in women, the Hammar et al, 1989;Bianchi et al, 1993;Bisconti et al, 2000;Serio et al, 2004;Bianchi et al, 2004. 11 12/12 Asbestos cement production or processing 3 4 4 5 Anderson et al, 1976;Vianna and Polan, 1978;Otte et al, 1990;Precerutti et al, 1990;Dawson et al, 1992;Schneider et al,1995;Musti et al, 2002. 9 16/4 Insulation work 7 ö 2 8 Smith et al,1968;Li et al,1978;Martensson et al, 1984;Lynch et al, 1985;Hammar et al, 1989;Orn et al, 1991;Dawson et al,1992 In additional four clusters, there was evidence of environmental exposure to erionite [Baris et al, 1979] or to asbestos at school [Picklesimer et al, 2005], or any evidence of exposure [Hirsch et al, 1982;Munoz et al, 1988].…”

“…An emerging risk of asbestos ''in place'' and the occurrence of mesothelioma after exposure as school teachers, school children, office clerks or dwellers in buildings containing asbestos has previously been highlighted [Hillerdal, 1999;Ascoli et al, 2004]. When the type of asbestos fiber was reported as a finding in lung tissue analysis or as the fiber concentration in the workplace, amphiboles were always included [Browne, 1983;Ferguson and Watson, 1984;Otte et al, 1990]. Five studies referred to clusters in relatives exposed to crocidolite [Orn et al, 1991;Dawson et al, 1992;Schneider et al, 1995;Musti et al, 2002;Bianchi et al, 2004]; three subjects belonging to two clusters had been exposed during their mining at Wittenoom, Western Australia [Dawson et al, 1992;Bianchi et al, 2004].…”

“…There is no evidence for possible indicators of individual susceptibility in any family. Cases of conjugal mesothelioma [Lillington et al, 1974;Bianchi et al, 2004] as well as cases in all family members [Otte et al, 1990] weaken the role of genetics in favor of asbestos.…”

“…All clusters included first-degree relatives and three of them involved also second-degree relatives [Li et al, 1989;Precerutti et al, 1990;Ascoli et al, 1998]. Only one cluster with heavy exposure involved the triple relationship mother, father and son [Otte et al, 1990].…”

Tumours Linked to Para-Occupational Exposure to Airborne Asbestos

“…Other chil dren or adults suffering from pleural mesothelioma, where the asbestos-dust exposure originated from child hood, can be seen from table 1. There are also reports of frequent cases of asbestos-induced mesotheliomas within the family as a result of household contacts [85][86][87], There are reports from both Krousel et al [63] and Li et al [58,66] according to which both the wives and the daughters of men who worked with asbestos insulation materials died from mesotheliomas. The inhalative household contact occurred through cleaning the hus band's industrial clothing which was contaminated with asbestos dust.…”