Many questions have been raised on how much asbestos exposure and asbestos fiber burden in the body relates to the development of mesothelioma. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the amount of asbestos exposure necessary to develop mesothelioma, often showing promising results.
In a 2008 study titled “asbestos Burden Predicts Survival in Pleural mesothelioma,” researchers showed that the level of asbestos burden found in a pleural mesothelioma patient’s lungs had a correlation with their survival rates. In this study, patients with moderate asbestos burden exhibited greater survival rates than those with lower or higher asbestos burden levels.
The study tracked patients receiving mesothelioma treatment in the International mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The researchers examined surgically removed lung sections for asbestos fibers in the lung tissue. Results were plotted to determine mesothelioma patient survival probability based off of age, demographic, cancer histology, asbestos burden and last date of check up.
Results from the study showed that men had between a 3:1 and 5:1 ratio of developing mesothelioma and a significantly higher lung tissue asbestos burden than women. The researchers speculated from this statistic that higher asbestos fiber burden may contribute to a poorer prognosis for the patient.
However, in some cases, patients who had an asbestos burden that was very close to the average rate of the general population still developed mesothelioma. This signified that some patients had a greater inherent susceptibility to pleural mesothelioma. One of the most interesting results discovered by researchers was that both low and high asbestos burden patients had a higher risk of death compared to moderate asbestos burden patients.
Additional information on mesothelioma and mesothelioma treatment may be found through the mesothelioma Center.