Mesothelioma Without Asbestos Exposure

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer. It takes its name from the mesothelium, a thin layer of tissue that covers most of the human body’s internal organs. Since there are mesothelial layers throughout the body, this cancer can strike almost anywhere. However, mesothelioma usually affects the pleural tissue surrounding the lungs. In some rare cases, it can also start in or spread to the heart, abdomen, or testicles. 

When doctors suspect that a patient could have mesothelioma, they diagnose it based on its location. For example: 

• Pleural mesothelioma, or malignant pleural mesothelioma, affects the tissue surrounding the lungs, causing respiratory signs and symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, and unexplained weight loss.²
• Peritoneal mesothelioma, which affects abdominal tissue, can cause symptoms including abdominal pain, swelling, and nausea. 
• Pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the heart, can complicate breathing and cause chest pain. 

Risk Factors For Mesothelioma

Scientists are still trying to understand cancer. While the development of tumors is still being studied, cancers probably form through some combination of inherited physiological traits, environmental exposure, age, and lifestyle choices. A trait, experience, or condition that could contribute to the formation of a cancer tumor is called a “risk factor.” 

We already know that cigarette smokers, for instance, are more likely to develop lung cancer than people who do not smoke cigarettes. We could therefore consider tobacco use a risk factor for lung cancer. 

Mesothelioma has risk factors, too. They include: 

• Asbestos Exposure. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. Since asbestos is highly durable, inexpensive to produce, and heat resistant, it has been used in manufacturing and construction for centuries. However, asbestos products can release microscopic airborne fibers. If a person inhales these mineral fibers, they can get “trapped” inside the lungs, causing inflammation, respiratory problems, and different cancers, including mesothelioma. People who have a history of long-term exposure to asbestos, especially in the workplace, are at the highest risk of developing mesothelioma; they account for an estimated 70-80% of all diagnosed cases.⁴
• Erionite Exposure. Erionite is another naturally occurring mineral. While erionite is no longer mined or used for commercial purposes, it can sometimes contaminate otherwise safe deposits of rock and gravel. When these erionite deposits are crushed, tilled, or otherwise dispersed, they can infiltrate the lungs and their mesothelia. The National Cancer Institute has found that road construction workers are at the highest risk for erionite exposure.⁵

Mesothelioma can have other, less common causes, too: 

• Genetics. Mesothelioma can sometimes “run in the family.” Scientists have found that so-called germline mutations in the gene encoding the BAP1 protein, passed from parents to their children, can increase an individual’s lifetime risk for mesothelioma.⁶ However, genetic mutations rarely cause mesothelioma without any external influence. People who may be genetically predisposed to the disease will still need to be exposed to asbestos, erionite, or other hazardous substance. 
• Other factors. While mesothelioma is usually caused by asbestos or erionite exposure, scientists cannot always identify the source of mesothelioma. Links to other medical conditions, such as the simian virus, have been proposed but not verified. 

However, Asbestos Could Still Be Responsible for ‘Inexplicable’ Mesothelioma

The Cureus researchers were confounded by their patient’s case partially because the patient – at 47 years old – was too young to have malignant epithelioid mesothelioma! 

Mesothelioma is, in fact, often thought of as a “disease of old age” because the average age of diagnosis is 65. Although people under the age of 65, and even under the age of 50, can have mesothelioma, they almost always have had verifiable childhood asbestos exposures.

However, mesothelioma’s tendency to present in old age does not mean that this cancer specifically targets older adults – asbestos fibers simply take a very, very long time to begin causing noticeable physical problems.

Asbestos, after all, used to be everywhere – it was even celebrated as a “miracle mineral,” used to manufacture everything from floor tiles and roof shingles to plumbing and automotive parts.

Common asbestos-containing products include: 

• Floor and ceiling tiles 
• Automotive parts, including brake pads 
• Fiber insulation
• Loose fill home insulation
• Fire safety appliances and heat resistant clothing 
• Pipe insulation 

Many people, especially older adults, may have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated products without their knowledge. 

Secondary Asbestos Exposure 

People who were never directly exposed to asbestos could still develop chronic asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, if they lived or spent significant time around someone who worked with the flame-resistant mineral. 

Since asbestos can fragment into powder or fibers, people who regularly spent time around the mineral could sometimes track it back home. This is because asbestos fibers can cling to clothing, hair, and skin. 

Asbestos fibers could also contaminate a variety of physical objects. If a construction worker came home covered in asbestos fibers, it could powder their car seat, accumulate outside their shower, or infect furniture. 

Similarly, a spouse or child tasked with washing a worker’s clothes could be exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos on a near-daily basis.

When an occupationally at-risk worker brings asbestos home, their family members and friends could inhale enough asbestos fibers to develop health conditions of their own.

However, many people who suffered secondhand asbestos exposure never realize they were around asbestos until it is too late.