TY - JOUR
T1 - Epidemiology of Environmental Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma
AU - International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Mesothelioma Task Force
AU - Liu, Bian
AU - van Gerwen, Maaike
AU - Bonassi, Stefano
AU - Taioli, Emanuela
N1 - Funding Information:
The work of Dr. Bonassi was supported by grants funded by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (IG2015-17564) and National Institute for Insurance against Employment Injuries (12/2010). The authors thank the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Mesothelioma Task Force for highlighting the need of a review focused on environmental exposure to asbestos and for their useful comments and reviews.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - Although the association between exposure to asbestos and malignant mesothelioma (particularly malignant pleural mesothelioma) has been well established, the health impact of environmental exposure (EE) to asbestos has been less studied. This review summarizes the most recent studies on the association between malignant mesothelioma and EE with asbestos to identify features associated with EE and quantify the association with malignant mesothelioma. There were 44 studies from 18 countries that met our selection criteria, with a considerable amount of heterogeneity in their study design, measures of exposure, and health outcomes. The male-to-female ratio was close to or less than 1 and generally lower than the ratio reported when both occupational and environmental exposures were considered. Although recent studies have continued to improve our understanding of environmental exposure to asbestos, challenges remain. We have highlighted a few new research directions, such as a need for reliable matrices to identify common and less recognized types of EE, asbestos biomarker studies specifically focusing on EE, and research on populations and geographic areas that have not been previously studied.
AB - Although the association between exposure to asbestos and malignant mesothelioma (particularly malignant pleural mesothelioma) has been well established, the health impact of environmental exposure (EE) to asbestos has been less studied. This review summarizes the most recent studies on the association between malignant mesothelioma and EE with asbestos to identify features associated with EE and quantify the association with malignant mesothelioma. There were 44 studies from 18 countries that met our selection criteria, with a considerable amount of heterogeneity in their study design, measures of exposure, and health outcomes. The male-to-female ratio was close to or less than 1 and generally lower than the ratio reported when both occupational and environmental exposures were considered. Although recent studies have continued to improve our understanding of environmental exposure to asbestos, challenges remain. We have highlighted a few new research directions, such as a need for reliable matrices to identify common and less recognized types of EE, asbestos biomarker studies specifically focusing on EE, and research on populations and geographic areas that have not been previously studied.
KW - Asbestos
KW - Cancer
KW - Fibers
KW - Non-occupational exposure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019005959&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtho.2017.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jtho.2017.04.002
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28412495
AN - SCOPUS:85019005959
SN - 1556-0864
VL - 12
SP - 1031
EP - 1045
JO - Journal of Thoracic Oncology
JF - Journal of Thoracic Oncology
IS - 7
ER -