Asbestos content of omentum and mesentery in nonoccupationally exposed individuals

Abstract

Asbestos fibers in occupationally exposed individuals relocate from the lung to extrapulmonary sites. A mechanism for relocation is via the lymphatic circulation. Indeed, asbestos fibers have been found in lymph nodes as well as pleural plaques. Our laboratory has recently shown that asbestos fibers also reach the mesentery and omentum in the peritoneal area where a small percentage of mesotheliomas occurs in exposed individuals. The present study uses light and analytical transmission electron microscopy for defining the asbestos burden in digested lung, omentum, and mesentery tissues from individuals considered as representing the general population in East Texas. The findings, when compared with previous data from occupationally exposed individuals, indicate extreme contrasts as to the level and types of fiber burden between individuals representing the groups.

Asbestos fibers in para‐aortic and mesenteric lymph nodes

“…These values are three orders of magnitude higher than previously reported asbestos concentrations in the omentum and mesentery of patients with mesothelioma (range 0.0002-0.0066 million f/g fibers >1 mm in length) [Dodson et al, 2000[Dodson et al, , 2001. The lung asbestos concentrations in these patients were similar to those found in our study.…”

“…Dodson et al [2000Dodson et al [ , 2001 have detected asbestos fibers in the omentum and mesentery of patients with mesothelioma and also in nonoccupationally exposed persons. The route of penetration of asbestos fibers to the peritoneal space is still uncertain.…”

Asbestos in brakes: Exposure and risk of disease

“…It has been shown that it is not just the size and shape of the various asbestos fibers that are important in its ability to produce disease but other factors may play a role in the carcinogenicity of the mineral fiber [Wagner, 1980;Wylie et al, 1987]. Studies have also found that the majority of asbestos fibers in lung and mesothelial tissues were shorter than 5 mm in length, thus indicating the ability of the shorter fibers to reach the tumor site, remain there, and, therefore, their role in the etiology of disease is implicated [Dodson et al, 2001;Suzuki and Yuen, 2002]. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research has found that in typical occupational environments fibers shorter than 5 mm in length outnumber the longer fibers by a factor of 10 or more [Dement and Wallingford, 1990].…”

Peritoneal Mesothelioma and Asbestos: Clarifying the Relationship by Epidemiology

“…The authors also reported that the likelihood of translocation was strongly related to the thinness of the fiber [72]. Asbestos fibers have been found in mesenteric lymph nodes in autopsies of individuals with asbestos exposure [73], supporting the hypothesis that lymph drainage is an important translocation mechanism for asbestos in the human body [73,74)]. Kurimoto et al [75] reported this in a case of peritoneal mesothelioma asbestos fibers at concentrations >10,000 fibers/g dry tissue, which were found in all samples of intra-abdominal tissue examined (except in the small intestine.…”

“…There are multiple studies in which women were exposed to amphibole and/or chrysotile asbestos and developed peritoneal mesothelioma [41,43,[51][52][53]57,58,73,[79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87] There are additional studies of female peritoneal mesothelioma. Keal [88] reported eight female cases of peritoneal cancers on an examination of records from London hospital records and specimens (four of which were probably from the ovary and four from the peritoneum) who all had asbestosis.…”