Exposure to Asbestos and Mesothelioma of the Pleura

Abstract

Two cases of mesothelioma of the pleura are reported. Despite the absence of severe pulmonary fibrosis, the lungs in both contained "asbestos bodies"; in both, too, there was an occupational history of exposure to asbestos, although in the second this was obtained with difficulty and after death. The association between mesothelioma of the pleura and exposure to asbestos is unlikely to be fortuitous; but to establish this point all cases of mesothelioma, whatever their occupational history, should be studied with this possibility in mind; for evidence is now accumulating that this disease is an industrial hazard.