Occupational exposures to cosmetic talc and risk of mesothelioma: an updated pooled cohort and statistical power analysis with consideration of latency period

Marsh, Gary M.; Ierardi, A. Michael; Benson, Stacey; Finley, Brent L.

doi:10.1080/08958378.2019.1645768

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Fordyce et al (2019) reported one mesothelioma death in an individual that occurred 30 years after their employment of less than 5 years in the Vermont talc industry, “leaving open the possibility of exposure to asbestos in other occupations and/or possible exposure to ionizing radiation.” Fordyce et al (2019) noted that the death certificate associated with this mesothelioma “explicitly mentioned exposure to asbestos.” Thus, a brief employment in the talc industry is likely unrelated to the etiology of this individual’s mesothelioma. Also, it is notable that pneumoconiosis, a non-malignant respiratory disease, has been reported in these cohorts of cosmetic talc miners and millers, which indicated that cumulative exposures to talc in these workers were not insignificant (Finley et al, 2017; Marsh et al, 2019). If inhaled cosmetic talc indeed presents a mesothelioma hazard and mesothelioma risk increases with exposure, an increased risk should be observed in these highly exposed cosmetic talc miners and millers based on the most fundamental tenet of toxicology and health risk assessment; the concept of the dose-response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Thus, a brief employment in the talc industry is likely unrelated to the etiology of this individual's mesothelioma. Also, it is notable that pneumoconiosis, a non-malignant respiratory disease, has been reported in these cohorts of cosmetic talc miners and millers, which indicated that cumulative exposures to talc in these workers were not insignificant (Finley et al, 2017;Marsh et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For context, occupational epidemiology studies of highly exposed cosmetic talc miners and millers from Austria, France, Italy, Norway, and the U.S. (state of Vermont) demonstrated that these workers were not at an increased risk of mesothelioma (Finley et al, 2017; Garabrant and Pastula, 2018; Ierardi and Marsh, 2020; Ierardi et al, 2022; Marsh et al, 2019; Marsh and Ierardi, 2020). Zero cases of mesothelioma have been reported in all these cohorts except for the Vermont cosmetic talc miners and millers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational exposure to cosmetic talc and mesothelioma in barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists: A systematic review of the epidemiology

Lewis,

Smith,

Krevanko

et al. 2023

Toxicol Ind Health

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Inhalation exposure to cosmetic talc has generated much scientific debate regarding its potential as a risk factor for mesothelioma, a rare, but fatal cancer. Barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists have regularly used cosmetic talc-containing products, but the collective epidemiological evidence for mesothelioma in these occupations has yet to be described. As such, we conducted a systematic review of PubMed and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Numbered Publications list to identify original epidemiological literature reporting measures of association between these occupations and incidence of or death from mesothelioma. Literature screening was performed independently twice, the results of which were summarized and tabulated and underwent a review for their accuracy. A total of 12 studies met our inclusion criteria, including three cohort, six case–control, and three proportionate mortality/registration studies. The data from these studies were collected in 13 European and North American countries, spanning more than 50 years. We supplemented this review with queries of occupational mortality databases that are managed by the Washington State Department of Health and NIOSH for 26 U.S. states. Most findings were null and if statistically significant, nearly all showed an inverse relationship, indicative of a protective effect of these occupations on mesothelioma risk. Overall, the epidemiological evidence does not support an increased risk of mesothelioma for these occupations. This research fills an important data gap on the etiology of mesothelioma in barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists, and provides a benchmark for those with comparatively less exposure, such as non-occupational users of similar cosmetic talc-containing products.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational exposure to cosmetic talc and mesothelioma in barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists: A systematic review of the epidemiology

Lewis,

Smith,

Krevanko

et al. 2023

Toxicol Ind Health

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“…Additionally, Ilgren et al (2017) found no asbestos in their analysis, only non-asbestiform tremolite cleavage fragments. It is reassuring, indeed, that a robust body of epidemiological studies at Italian mines have supported this conclusion, consistently showing no association with mesothelioma and lung cancer risk (Ciocan et al, 2022;Coggiola et al, 2003;Ierardi et al, 2022;Marsh et al, 2019;Pira et al, 2017;Rubino et al, 1976Rubino et al, , 1979.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Authors’ response to the letter to the editor on “characterization of asbestos exposures associated with the use of facial makeups”

2022

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We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the comments of the letter writer. The writer states in his Letter to the Editor that the findings in our publication are not interpretable and/or cannot be generalized due to the lack of understanding of the source mine and bulk content of the cosmetic talc used in the facial makeups. In brief, we performed an exposure simulation study using established industrial hygiene methods, planned and conducted by Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIHs), to assess asbestos exposures during the use of facial makeups that were found to contain very low levels of asbestos below the conventional detection limits of X‐ray diffraction and polarized light microscopy. In total, 54 personal air samples and 72 area samples were collected from six different products. Out of the 126 samples collected and analyzed, asbestos was only found in eight samples (five personal samples and three area samples). A 95th percentile 24‐h time‐weighted average (TWA) result of 0.00008 fibers/cubic centimeter was calculated based on censored data and an assumed three applications per day. We believe these results may be of utility to understand the risk of low‐level asbestos content in facial makeups regardless of source or bulk content, as described in our study, and do not find the writer's assertion of generalizability or interpretability to be compelling reasons not to apply our results, as is, for prospective purposes.

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Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Carbone¹,

Gomez²,

Tsao³

et al. 2023

Holland‐Frei Cancer Medicine

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Overview Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy with an incidence that may be peaking worldwide. While the majority of patients do ultimately die of this disease, there have been substantial treatment and diagnostic shifts over the past decade that may improve long‐term outcomes. These changes include worldwide interest in defining early detection biomarkers for the disease, a debate as to the optimal surgical approach (extrapleural pneumonectomy vs lung‐sparing methods such as pleurectomy/decortication), further refinement of radiation techniques that allow for conformal treatment fields and the delivery of radiation with the involved lung intact, and the emergence of systemic therapies that are targeted in nature and allow for the increased individualization of care. Indeed, prospective clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of novel treatment approaches will be essential to the standardization of paradigms that improve outcomes. It is hoped that the maturation of these efforts will lead to an optimal approach in which earlier stage patients will benefit from multiple modalities that will provide synergistic control while limiting toxicity, thereby increasing the number of long‐term survivors over the next one to two decades.

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Occupational exposures to cosmetic talc and risk of mesothelioma: an updated pooled cohort and statistical power analysis with consideration of latency period

Cited by 13 publications

References 37 publications

Occupational exposure to cosmetic talc and mesothelioma in barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists: A systematic review of the epidemiology

Occupational exposure to cosmetic talc and mesothelioma in barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists: A systematic review of the epidemiology

Authors’ response to the letter to the editor on “characterization of asbestos exposures associated with the use of facial makeups”

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

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