Lung Cancer
Lung cancer (also known as bronchogenic carcinoma) is a disease
that can be caused by asbestos exposure particularly in people
who also smoked cigarettes. In a leading study of asbestos workers
conducted at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, it was found
that asbestos workers who also smoked cigarettes had a 50 to
90 times increase in lung cancer deaths when compared to people
who neither smoked nor were exposed to asbestos. For non-smokers,
the rate of lung cancer deaths was 5 times greater than the general
population.
The Mt. Sinai study showed that asbestos exposure and the carcinogens
in cigarette smoke act "synergistically" to multiply
the risk for lung cancer in those people exposed to both substances.
All lung cancer cell types can be caused by asbestos. These include
adenocarcinoma, bronchoalveolar, small cell, large cell, oat
cell and squamous cell carcinoma. Primary lung cancers caused
by asbestos may occur in either lung and may be located in any
of the lobes of the lung. Additionally, lung cancer can be related
to asbestos exposure whether or not a person also has pulmonary
asbestosis or asbestos-related pleural disease. (Although it
would not be uncommon for a person to have both asbestosis and
lung cancer).
The latency period for lung cancer is quite long ranging from
15 to 20, 30 or more years from first exposure. While lung cancer
attributable to cigarette smoking (which has a similar latency
period) has been well-documented, less attention has been focused
on asbestos-related lung cancers. It should be noted that when
a person stops smoking cigarettes, his lung cancer risk immediately
begins to drop, approaching the risk of a non-smoker 10 to 15
years after quitting. For someone occupationally exposed to asbestos,
however, his lung cancer risk remains high even if he stopped
smoking many years before (since microscopic asbestos fibers
can remain in the lungs, continuing to do damage, for a lifetime).
The prognosis for someone diagnosed with lung cancer is often
good. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or some combination of
these treatments can often result in complete remission and long-term
survival, particularly if it is diagnosed early. Additionally,
modern treatments, especially chemotherapy, have far fewer side
effects
than they did even a few years ago.
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