There are four main diseases associated with asbestos exposure.
- Asbestosis (a scarring of the lung tissue caused by asbestos),
- Two kinds of cancer
- mesothelioma
- asbestos caused lung cancer
- Diffuse pleural thickening (a non-malignant disease affecting the lung lining).
Asbestosis
Asbestosis is defined as lung fibrosis caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. Diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical features, X-ray appearances and a history of heavy asbestos exposure. It is generally recognised that heavy asbestos exposures are required in order to produce clinically significant asbestosis within the lifetime of an individual. Current trends therefore still largely reflect the results of heavy exposures in the past.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a formerly rare form of cancer which affects the pleura (the lining of the lungs) and the peritoneum (the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract). In the majority of cases mesothelioma is rapidly fatal following diagnosis so mesothelioma death statistics give a clear indication of the disease incidence.
Ssbestos Caused Lung Cancer
Asbestos has been recognised as an important risk factor for lung cancer for many years. However, there are a number of other agents that can cause the disease – most importantly, tobacco smoke – and lung cancers resulting from asbestos exposure are clinically indistinguishable from those caused by these other agents.
Diffuse Pleural Thickening
The pleura is a two-layered membrane which surrounds the lungs and lines the inside of the rib cage. Some asbestos fibres inhaled into lungs work their way out to the pleura and may cause fibrosis or scarring to develop there. This causes the pleura to thicken and this may show up on a chest X-ray or CT scan.