Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Occupational and Non-Occupational Asbestos Exposures

The objectives of this study was to review many epidemiological risk factors on the occurrence of malignant pleural mesothelioma among occupational and nonoccupational asbestos-exposed men and women mentioned in several previous studies. Asbestos exposure is a well-documented etiological factor of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The majority of cases are men and only 40% of female cases are occupational exposure. Many western and developing countries are currently suffering malignant pleural mesothelioma epidemic due to their extensive use of asbestos. Exposure to all types of asbestos can induce malignant mesothelioma, including cancer of lung, larynx, ovary, and gastrointestinal organs, particularly, colorectal region. Approximately, 125 million people expose to asbestos in their workplaces worldwide. There are several limitations of the studies on association of the asbestos exposures, both occupational and para-occupational or non-occupational causes, such as inability to take into account confounding by occupational asbestos exposure, difficulties in retrace past exposures, inadequacy of the length of follow-up, various exposure levels at different factories, and unavailability of data regarding the type of asbestos used and measurements of the air-borne asbestos dust concentration in each factory. Currently, there are many governmental asbestos-use-control organizations, including malignant pleural mesothelioma database in many countries, such as The Italian National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, The Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan, The French National Mesothelioma Surveillance Program, etc. to protect their people from malignant pleural mesothelioma.