What are the four main diseases associated with asbestos?
Asbestos diseases are caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. Malignant asbestos diseases include mesothelioma, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer. Nonmalignant asbestos diseases include asbestosis, COPD, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, pleural effusion and atelectasis.
What diseases are caused by asbestos exposure?
Exposure to asbestos can increase the risk of developing:
- Lung cancer.
- Asbestosis, which causes permanent lung damage.
- Mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the chest and stomach lining.
- Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, kidney and throat (larynx or oropharynx).
- Scarring of the lung lining.
What kind of lung cancer is caused by asbestos?
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. It can form in the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart. Lung cancer may be caused by asbestos but is more commonly caused by smoking and environmental exposure.
How do you get cancer from asbestos?
How Does Asbestos Cause Lung Cancer? When a person inhales asbestos, microscopic fibers can become lodged in their lung tissue. Over many years, the fibers can cause enough genetic and cellular damage to cause lung cells to turn cancerous.
Can asbestos cause benign tumors?
Unlike asbestos cancer, such as malignant mesothelioma, the benign type is not cancer and is not caused by asbestos exposure. The malignant form of mesothelioma usually develops 20-50 years after exposure to asbestos, but the benign form can occur at any age.
Can asbestos cause autoimmune diseases?
Based on the correlation between asbestos-related disease and ANA levels, the results suggest that asbestos is an agent of systemic autoimmunity and that autoimmune responses may play a role in the progression of asbestos-related diseases, according to the authors.
How long does it take to develop cancer from asbestos?
It can take between 10 and 40 years for asbestos to cause cancer or asbestos-related lung diseases in individuals with occupational levels of exposure, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Asbestos-related cancer rarely appears within a few years of exposure.
Which body organs does mesothelioma mainly affect?
Mesothelioma mainly affects the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), although it can also affect the lining of the tummy (peritoneal mesothelioma), heart or testicles.
Is mesothelioma always cancerous?
Almost all of them are malignant mesothelioma. Benign mesothelioma mostly affects women, whereas malignant mesothelioma primarily affects men. Malignant mesothelioma is linked to asbestos, but the cause of benign mesothelioma is unknown.
Can you get lupus from asbestos?
However, also asbestosis is known to be associated with serum antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity [4], and may be complicated by autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [5–7].
What are diseases related to asbestos exposure?
Mesothelioma. A rare,aggressive form of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs,abdomen,and heart.
How is asbestos related to cancer?
Asbestos cancers are caused by inhaling or swallowing microscopic asbestos fibers. The term “asbestos cancer” most often refers to mesothelioma. Several other malignancies are linked to asbestos exposure including lung cancer, ovarian cancer and cancer of the voice box.
What are the signs of asbestos exposure?
The most common signs of asbestos exposure include shortness of breath, cough and chest pain. Pleural plaques are a sign that a person had enough exposure to be at risk of other diseases. They may develop prior to mesothelioma or lung cancer.
Can asbestos cause skin cancer?
Asbestos Through Skin Contact Lead to High-Risk Disease. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is known to cause diseases such as mesothelioma or lung cancer many years after initial exposure.