Comments on the Causation of Malignant Mesothelioma: Rebutting the False Concept That Recent Exposures to Asbestos Do Not Contribute to Causation of Mesothelioma

• Main Authors: Phillip J. Landrigan, Collegium Ramazzini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Levy Library Press 2016-06-01
• Series: Annals of Global Health
• Online Access: https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1180

Background: European <a title="Learn more about Asbestos" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/asbestos">asbestos</a> manufacturers and their expert witnesses have advanced the claim that recent exposures to asbestos are not of significance in the causation of <a title="Learn more about Mesothelioma" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/mesothelioma">malignant mesothelioma</a>. They argue that in cases of prolonged exposure to asbestos only the earliest exposures contribute to mesothelioma induction. Methods: The Collegium Ramazzini examined this claim and compared it with the findings of the Epidemiology and Public Health Working Group of the Second Italian Consensus Conference on <a title="Learn more about Pleural cavity" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/pleural-cavity">Pleural</a> Mesothelioma. This independent Working Group noted that earlier exposures are more effective in inducing mesothelioma, but that subsequent exposures also contribute and cannot be excluded. They found convincing evidence to support the conclusion that mesothelioma incidence is proportional to cumulative asbestos exposure. Conclusion: The Collegium Ramazzini concludes that risk of malignant mesothelioma is proportional to cumulative exposure to asbestos in which all exposures - early as well as late - contribute to the totality of risk. The Collegium Ramazzini rejects as false and scientifically unfounded the notion that only the earliest exposures to asbestos contribute to mesothelioma induction.