Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1971 Jan;26(1):6–22. doi: 10.1136/thx.26.1.6

Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure

F Whitwell 1,2,3, Rachel M Rawcliffe 1,2,3
PMCID: PMC472229  PMID: 5101273

Abstract

Pleural mesothelioma has been diagnosed in 52 patients in three hospitals on Merseyside between 1955 and 1970, 60% being diagnosed from operation specimens and the rest from postmortem tissues. Necropsies eventually held on nearly half the operation cases confirmed the diagnosis, giving a necropsy rate of 70% for the series. The morbid anatomy conformed to earlier descriptions except that widespread metastases were much commoner than has usually been described. Histological findings agreed with previous accounts of the tumour, except that, in our hands, special acid mucopolysaccharide staining was less reliable than Southgate's mucicarmine, which was of value in differential diagnosis. Association with asbestos was confirmed from industrial histories in 80% of cases, the commonest industries involved being shipbuilding and repairing in men and sackware repairing in women. Lungs of industrial mesothelioma cases showed basal asbestosis in 17% and excessive asbestos bodies in almost all the rest. Quantitative comparison of asbestos bodies in lung smears from mesothelioma cases compared with lung smears from other Merseyside adults showed much higher counts in the mesothelioma cases. The interval from first exposure to asbestos until appearance of mesothelioma ranged between 13 and 63 years, with a mean of 42 years. We think the incidence of mesothelioma will continue to rise with the increased use of asbestos until about 40 years after adequate protective measures have been taken.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

15Image
on p.15
15Image
on p.15
14Image
on p.14
14Image
on p.14
12Image
on p.12
12Image
on p.12
8Image
on p.8
9Image
on p.9
9Image
on p.9
10Image
on p.10
10Image
on p.10
11Image
on p.11
13Image
on p.13

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ashcroft T. Asbestos bodies in routine necropsies on Tyneside: a pathological and social study. Br Med J. 1968 Mar 9;1(5592):614–618. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5592.614. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Churg J., Rosen S. H., Moolten S. Histological characteristics of mesothelioma associated with asbestos. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1965 Dec 31;132(1):614–622. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1965.tb41141.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. ELMES P. C., MCCAUGHEY W. T., WADE O. L. DIFFUSE MESOTHELIOMA OF THE PLEURA AND ASBESTOS. Br Med J. 1965 Feb 6;1(5431):350–353. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5431.350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. ENTICKNAP J. B., SMITHER W. J. PERITONEAL TUMOURS IN ASBESTOSIS. Br J Ind Med. 1964 Jan;21:20–31. doi: 10.1136/oem.21.1.20. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elmes P. C. The epidemiology and clinical features of asbestosis and related diseases. Postgrad Med J. 1966 Oct;42(492):623–635. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.42.492.623. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GODWIN M. C. Diffuse mesotheliomas; with comment on their relation to localized fibrous mesotheliomas. Cancer. 1957 Mar-Apr;10(2):298–319. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(195703/04)10:2<298::aid-cncr2820100211>3.0.co;2-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HINSON K. F. CANCER OF THE LUNGS AND OTHER DISEASES AFTER EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS DUST. Br J Dis Chest. 1965 Jul;59:121–129. doi: 10.1016/s0007-0971(65)80001-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HOURIHANE D. O. THE PATHOLOGY OF MESOTHELIOMATA AND AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH ASBESTOS EXPOSURE. Thorax. 1964 May;19:268–278. doi: 10.1136/thx.19.3.268. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Harries P. G. Asbestos hazards in naval dockyards. Ann Occup Hyg. 1968 Apr;11(2):135–145. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/11.2.135. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LE ROUX B. T. Pleural tumors. Thorax. 1962 Jun;17:111–119. doi: 10.1136/thx.17.2.111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McCAUGHEY W. T. Primary tumours of the pleura. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1958 Oct;76(2):517–529. doi: 10.1002/path.1700760222. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. OWEN W. G. DIFFUSE MESOTHELIOMA AND EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS DUST IN THE MERSEYSIDE AREA. Br Med J. 1964 Jul 25;2(5403):214–218. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5403.214. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roberts G. H. Asbestos bodies in lungs at necropsy. J Clin Pathol. 1967 Jul;20(4):570–573. doi: 10.1136/jcp.20.4.570. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. WAGNER J. C., MUNDAY D. E., HARINGTON J. S. Histochemical demonstration of hyaluronic acid in pleural mesotheliomas. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1962 Jul;84:73–78. doi: 10.1002/path.1700840109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. WAGNER J. C., SLEGGS C. A., MARCHAND P. Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape Province. Br J Ind Med. 1960 Oct;17:260–271. doi: 10.1136/oem.17.4.260. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WHITWELL F. The histopathology of lung cancer in Liverpool: the specificity of the histological cell types of lung cancer. Br J Cancer. 1961 Sep;15:440–459. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1961.54. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES