New Study: Asbestos Related to Most Common Kidney Cancer

Exposure to asbestos may lead to renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer, an Italian study shows. The link to kidney cancer adds to the horrific history of asbestos, a substance definitively recognized as a cause of mesothelioma, lung cancer and a variety of other respiratory illnesses. In the past, a handful of other cancers were inconclusively linked to asbestos exposure. However, the research team at the University of Pavia in Italy made its case for asbestos as a probable cause of renal cell carcinoma. “The findings did surprise me. It was something I had not suspected before,” Stefano Candura, Pavia professor and lead author of the study, told Asbestos.com. “This was a case report on a controversial issue. It may imply that asbestos is a multitarget carcinogen.” Asbestos Causes Both Malignancies Scientific journal La Medicina del Lavoro published the study earlier this year. The case involved a 76-year-old man with seven years of occupational exposure in a factory, where his duties included cutting asbestos cement panels with an electric saw. Doctors diagnosed him with kidney cancer and removed the diseased organ. Fourteen months later, he died of peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer which begins in the lining of the abdomen. It is a rare, aggressive cancer, and the second most common form of mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is diagnosed in fewer than 500 people annually in the U.S. “Asbestos might be involved in the causation of both mali...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: asbestos cancer asbestos related to kidney cancer cancer research mesothelioma peritoneal mesothelioma Source Type: news