%0 Journal Article %T Asbestos, asbestosis, pleural plaques and lung cancer %A Hillerdal, Gunnar %A Henderson, D. W. %J Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health %D 1997 %8 April 23 %N 2 %@ 0355-3140 %F Hillerdal1997 %X

Inhalation of asbestos fibers increases the risk of bronchial carcinoma. It has been claimed that asbestosis is a necessary prerequisite for the malignancy, but epidemiologic studies usually do not have enough statistical strength to prove that asbestos-exposed patients without asbestosis are without risk. Several recent studies do actually indicate that there is a risk for such patients. In addition, case-referent studies of patients with lung cancer show an attributable risk for asbestos of 6% to 23%, which is much higher than the actual occurrence of asbestosis among these patients. Thus there is an increasing body of evidence that, at low exposure levels, asbestos produces a slight increase in the relative risk of lung cancer even in the absence of asbestosis. Consequently, all exposure to asbestos must be minimized.

%K asbestos %K lung cancer %K lung fibrosis %K pleural plaque %R 10.5271/sjweh.186 %U https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=186 %U https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.186 %P 93-103