Lung cancer

Lung cancer refers to any type of malignant tumor that originates in the lung itself (unlike mesothelioma, which is in the pleural lining around the lung.)

Some lung cancers are caused by asbestos exposure, but the nature of this relationship is not yet fully understood. What is certain is that the risk of developing lung cancer is much greater for those with significant occupational exposure to asbestos, as compared to the general population who have background exposure (see "Asbestos Exposure & Your Job") Also, the greater the exposure, the greater the risk.

There is also a long incubation (latency) period between asbestos exposure and the development of lung cancer. In fact, incidence of cancer appears to peak as long as thirty years after first exposure.

Adding to the complexity of understanding the relationship between lung cancer and asbestos exposure is the issue of smoking. There is a synergistic relationship between asbestos exposure and smoking. What this means is that although workers who have been exposed to asbestos have a higher risk of developing lung cancer, it is also well known that smokers have a higher risk of developing lung cancer; but the cancer risk of workers who were exposed to asbestos and who smoked is not simply the sum of these two separate risks. Rather, these risks are multiplied. The combined cancer risk is therefore very much higher - as high as 50 to 90 times the risk faced by the general population.

The most important conclusion to be drawn from this, for anyone who has been exposed to asbestos and who smokes, is to quit smoking now.

More About Diseases:

• » What Happens When We Breathe?
• » What happens when asbestos is in the air we breathe?
• » What are asbestos-related diseases?
• » SV 40 - Does this virus cause mesothelioma?
• » Lung cancer
• » Asbestosis
• » Other asbestos-related diseases
• » Smoking
• » Further information