Factors in Developing Malignant Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma News

Malignant Mesothelioma in Rural Turkey Due to Environmental Asbestos

December 20, 2002 — A recent study examined the health of residents from 11 villages around Eskisehir in central Anatolia, Turkey, who had been exposed to asbestos through the use of asbestos–contaminated white soil (Chest 2002 Dec; 122(6): 2224–9). The researchers determined the asbestos content of the white soil and the airborne asbestos fiber concentrations. They also recorded population details such as age, sex, length of residency, exposure data, and hospital reports, including mesothelioma diagnosis.

Out of 1,886 villagers, 377 died during the observation period and 24 developed pleural mesothelioma. The average annual malignant mesothelioma incidence rates were 114.8 per 100,000 for men and 159.8 per 100,000 for women. The data indicated that the risk of malignant mesothelioma through environmental asbestos exposure in these villages is 88.3 times greater in men and 799 times greater in women, respectively, than in most other parts of the world.

In prior studies of patients at the Eskisehir clinic, the average asbestos exposure time was 55 years for those with a long exposure period and 25 years for those with a short exposure period. There was no significant difference between the age when mesothelioma developed for both groups (55 and 56 years, respectively). The length of time that environmentally–induced mesothelioma takes to develop appears to be longer than the period of time required for mesothelioma to develop from on–the–job exposures (Respir Med 1999 May; 93(5): 349–55).

In other rural Turkish villages, genetics has played a role in increasing the risk of contracting malignant mesothelioma (see Genetics a Factor in Mesothelioma in Turkish Villages). Yet occupational and environmental factors remain triggers for malignant mesothelioma in those who are not otherwise genetically predisposed to the disease.