In addition to causing pleural mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos is also known to cause a range of other cancers. Those who experienced occupational exposure to asbestos are the persons most at risk of developing an asbestos-related cancer like pleural mesothelioma, as it typically takes years of repeated exposure to cause any asbestos-related disease.
The link between asbestos and pleural mesothelioma has long been established, but exposure to this toxic mineral can also cause lung cancer, laryngeal cancer and ovarian cancer. The latter two cancers were only recently confirmed to be caused by asbestos exposure by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC). Retired Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and Deputy Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. Richard Lemen, announced this recent confirmation is the beginning of a “new chapter in the prevention of asbestos-related cancers.”
Lemen also stated, “The confirmation by IARC – the world’s leading cancer research agency – that all forms of asbestos, including its most commonly used form of asbestos chrysotile, cause lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and mesothelioma, leave no doubt that the prevailing medical evidence is irrefutable as to asbestos’ carcinogenicity. The new findings that there is sufficient evidence that asbestos also causes ovarian cancer will have far reaching implications to all women exposed to asbestos.”
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), a link may also exist between asbestos exposure and gastrointestinal (stomach) cancer and colon cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has also reported that asbestos exposure may increase a person’s risk of developing esophagus, throat, kidney and gallbladder cancer.
A number of studies have also investigated a slight potential connection between asbestos exposure and the development of breast and prostate cancer, in addition to leukemia and lymphomas.
Sources
- http://ibasecretariat.org/lka_asb_polic_maj_int_agencies.php
- http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_1_3X_Asbestos.asp?sitearea=PED
- http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos
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