Asbestos-Related Cancer / Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer and Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos Companies Knew In 1943 that Asbestos Could Cause Lung Cancer

In 1935, Doctors Kenneth Lynch and Atmar Smith published the first medical article describing lung cancer in an asbestos worker, Pulmonary Asbestosis III: Carcinoma of Lung in Asbesto-Silicosis.¹ This article was followed shortly thereafter by Dr. Gloyne’s 1935 article Two Cases of Squamous Carcinoma of the Lung Occurring in Asbestosis.²

While neither of these two articles directly linked asbestos exposure to cancer, they both began to raise questions that made the asbestos industry uncomfortable. So in 1936, 13 asbestos companies began privately funding their own studies to determine how dangerous asbestos exposure was.

The Discovery of Asbestos’s Many Harmful Effects

Asbestos fibers are sharp, microscopic, virtually indestructible needles. Breathing them can lead to respiratory illnesses including lung cancer.

The asbestos companies hired Dr. Leroy Gardner and the Saranac Laboratory to conduct studies in which they would expose lab rats to asbestos to determine how safe or dangerous asbestos was to breathe. Because they were funding the research, the asbestos companies maintained the sole right to decide whether to publish the research.

If their research proved that asbestos was safe, it would be published by Dr. Gardner, whose name would give the research instant credibility. And if the research showed asbestos was not safe, the industry would keep the study secret.

Dr. Leroy Gardner tried to obtain a grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the link between asbestos and cancer in 1943, but asbestos company executives scuttled the grant.

Dr. Richard Doll’s 1955 Paper Proved Asbestos Causes Lung Cancer

Sir Richard Doll was perhaps the most distinguished medical epidemiologist in the world. (Epidemiology is the study of how diseases form and are transmitted in populations.)

In his groundbreaking 1955 paper titled “Mortality from Lung Cancer in Asbestos Workers,” Richard Doll proved that asbestos exposure could cause cancer in humans. Dr. Doll studied the death rate of individuals who worked for Turner & Newall, an English asbestos company.

Doll tracked 113 men who had been exposed to asbestos while working for Turner & Newall and compared their mortality rate to the mortality rate of the whole population. Doll found that the Turner & Newall workers were dying of lung cancer at an alarming rate.

Confirmation of Asbestos’s Carcinogenicity

A carcinogen is a substance known to cause cancerous tumors (carcinomas). Following the publication of Doll’s report, many other medical researchers began investigating the link between asbestos exposure and cancer.

As described below, there are four distinct kinds of lung cancer (Adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma). Doll’s 1955 study did not attempt to prove whether asbestos exposure could cause each of those four types, but later researchers did.

The Helsinki Criteria confirmed that every kind of asbestos can cause every kind of lung cancer.

In January of 1997, a group of worldwide medical experts met in Helsinki, Finland to discuss the effects of asbestos exposure on humans. The result of their work was an article entitled Asbestos, Asbestosis, and cancer: The Helsinki Criteria for Diagnosis and Attribution.⁴

The Helsinki Criteria confirmed that asbestos exposure can lead to all 4 major histological types (squamous, adeno-cell, large-cell, and small-cell carcinoma).

Top Lung Cancer Treatment Centers in the U.S.

Types of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is broken down into two broad categories:

• Non-Small Lung Cell Cancer (NSCLC)
   
• Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Within those two categories are each of the four types of lung cancer.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers are the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for about 85% of all occurrences of lung cancer. There are multiple types of NSCLC:

● Adenocarcinoma

This is the most common subtype of NSCLC, especially among non-smokers. It originates in the mucus-producing cells lining the airways.  Adenocarcinoma of the lung is a known consequence of asbestos exposure and our office has collected millions of dollars on behalf of individuals who developed it after working with asbestos.  Dr. Churg reported that 19% of the 471 asbestos-exposed workers with lung cancer in his 1985 study had adenocarcinoma.

● Squamous Cell (Epidermoid) Carcinoma

Epithelial cells are one of the four kinds of primary cells we have in our body.  Those cells form the epithelium, which both covers and lines the internal and external surfaces of our body and its organs. A squamous cell is a type of epithelial cell that is flat and thin, resembling the shape of a scale or a tile. Our airways are lined with squamous cells. 

Squamous cell cancer typically occurs in the central bronchi, the large airways that lead to our lungs.  The very first case of lung cancer reported in an asbestos worker was reported in 1935, and that was a squamous cell carcinoma.  Dr. Churg reported that 43% of the 471 asbestos-exposed workers with lung cancer in his 1985 study had squamous cell carcinoma.

● Large Cell (Undifferentiated) Carcinoma

Large cell carcinoma gets its name from the appearance of the cells affected by the cancer; the cells appear large and abnormal under a microscope.  This type of cancer is sometimes called “undifferentiated” carcinoma.  Undifferentiated in the medical context means that the cancer has caused the affected cells to lose their normal appearance. 

Dr. Churg reported that 10% of the 471 asbestos-exposed workers with lung cancer in his 1985 study had large cell carcinoma.

Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC):

Small Cell Lung Cancer accounts for roughly 10-15% of all lung cancer diagnoses.  It’s an aggressive form of lung cancer that tends to spread more rapidly than other types. 

Small Cell Lung Cancer gets its name from its appearance under a microscope – the cells are small and are typically round.  Often the cells are slightly elongated and appear somewhat oat-shaped.

SCLC is sometimes called “oat cell cancer” for this very reason.Dr. Churg reported that 28% of the 471 asbestos-exposed workers with lung cancer in his 1985 study had small cell carcinoma, and Dr. Gloyne even mentioned a case of “oat cell” carcinoma in his 1935 paper.

What’s the difference between lung cancer and mesothelioma?

Compensation is available for individuals who have been diagnosed with lung cancer

Our law firm has helped thousands of individuals who developed asbestos-related cancers.  Individuals with lung cancer have a number of options available to obtain compensation:

● Asbestos Trust Claims

Asbestos trust claims do not require filing a lawsuit or going to court.  There are about fifty active asbestos trusts currently operating, and our office routinely collects trust settlements for people who developed lung cancer.

● Asbestos Lawsuits 

Clients who are willing to file a lawsuit and go to court have the option of suing the companies who made, sold, distributed, or installed the asbestos products they breathed.

● Disability Claims

The Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration offer disability benefits to certain individuals who have been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Lifelong smokers are eligible for asbestos settlements.

A common misconception is that smokers who develop lung cancer aren’t entitled to asbestos settlements because cigarettes probably caused their lung cancer.  It’s true of course that cigarettes cause lung cancer.  So does asbestos.  Smokers who are exposed to asbestos are at a dramatically higher risk of developing lung cancer than smokers who are not exposed to asbestos.  The reason why is known as the multiplicative effect. (This is also called a synergistic effect.

The multiplicative effect of smoking and asbestos exposure

Most medical professionals agree that:

● Individuals who smoke are at least 10 times as likely to develop lung cancer than people who don’t smoke. 

● Individuals exposed to asbestos are at least 5 times more likely to develop lung cancer than someone who was not exposed. 

But when someone smokes and is exposed to asbestos, the 10% risk and 5% risk are not added, they are multiplied.

That’s because asbestos and compounds in tobacco smoke interact to make lung cancer much more likely.

If the risk were added, you would add the 10x risk from smoking to the 5x risk of asbestos exposure and have a 15x risk of developing lung cancer. 

But the asbestos/smoking effects are not added, they are multiplied. 

When you multiply the 10x risk of smoking by the 5x risk of asbestos exposure, you find that people who smoked and who were exposed to asbestos are fifty times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers who were not exposed to asbestos.

5%	Asbestos exposure makes it five times more likely that a person will develop lung cancer.
10%	Smoking cigarettes makes it ten times more likely that a person will develop lung cancer.
50%	Being a smoker with asbestos exposure makes it fifty times more likely that a person will develop lung cancer. 5

While tobacco smoking remains the principal cause for lung cancers, exposure to asbestos is the most important occupational risk factor for these cancers.⁶

The asbestos industry’s failure to warn

The reason even lifelong smokers with lung cancer are eligible for asbestos settlements is because the asbestos industry never warned smokers about the multiplicative effect of asbestos exposure upon a smoker’s lungs. 

We’ve recovered millions of dollars in compensation for smokers who developed asbestos-related diseases, so don’t worry that your smoking history disqualifies you.

Justinian C. Lane, Esq.

My grandfather, grandmother and father were all exposed to asbestos in their work, and all three died of respiratory-related cancers, including lung cancer.

I found out too late about the health effects of asbestos to help my family, but maybe I can help yours.

My firm at AsbestosClaims.Law has helped many other people receive compensation for health problems they developed from exposure to asbestos.

Call, text or email us for a completely free consultation with no obligation. I will listen to the details of your story, and explain your options. We work on contingency, meaning we only get paid if you do.

Every case is different, but the Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – PLLC has obtained large settlements for thousands of people harmed by asbestos. This compensation has helped ease our clients’ financial burdens, and offers a legacy to leave for their loved ones.

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¹ Pulmonary asbestosis III: Carcinoma of lung in asbesto-silicosis., Lynch, K.M. and Smith, W.A., 1935. The American Journal of Cancer, 24(1), pp.56-64.

² Two cases of squamous carcinoma of the lung occurring in asbestosis., Gloyne, S.R., 1935.

³ Malignant mesothelioma 2008., Zervos MD, Bizekis C, Pass HI: Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2008, 14 (4): 303-309. 10.1097/MCP.0b013e328302851d.; Estimating the asbestos-related lung cancer burden from mesothelioma mortality.McCormack V, Peto J, Byrnes G, Straif K, Boffetta P: Br J Cancer. 2012, 106 (3): 575-584. 10.1038/bjc.2011.563.

⁴ Tossavainen, A., 1997. Asbestos, asbestosis, and cancer: the Helsinki criteria for diagnosis and attribution. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 23(4), pp.311-316.

⁵ Asbestos, smoking and lung cancer: an update. Klebe, S., Leigh, J., Henderson, D.W. and Nurminen, M., 2020, International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(1), p.258.

⁶ The current understanding of asbestos-induced epigenetic changes associated with lung cancer. Cheng, Y.Y., Rath, E.M., Linton, A., Yuen, M.L., Takahashi, K. and Lee, K., 2020. Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy, pp.1-11 (citing International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2012. A review of human carcinogens: personal habits and indoor combustions).