Asbestos lung cancer is known as a rare type of lung cancer, which appears as the most common cause of cancer mortality in the United States. It is estimated that 4,800 people die every year due to this particular illnesses, a number which represents about 4 percent of all United States fatalities to cancer of the lungs. The confusing majority of other deaths-about ninety percent- are associated with smoking.
Medical researchers first made probable causal relationship between the exposure to asbestos and lugn cancer in 1935. 7 years later, a member of the National Cancer Institute affirmed asbestos as the main cause of lung cancer. A research after another continued to show the causal relationship between asbestos and lung cancer. The occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1986 claimed that lung cancer as the greatest risk for Americans that worked with asbestos.
Just like mesothelioma, another asbestos-caused cancer, lung cancer that is associated with the exposure to asbestos is usually diagnosed at the late stage of the disease development due to the long latency period of development and the outset of symptoms.
The Similarities and Differences of Mesothelioma and Asbestos LungCancer are quite glaring. Both actually take decades to develop, yet only months to spread to distant areas in the body. They have the same diagnostic procedures and treatment techniques. However the disease differ in physical characteristics and non-asbestos risk factors.
How Asbestos Triggers Lung Cancer
Manufactures and a lot of companies have mined and used asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that is used for commercial purposes in North America since the late 1800s. it is now highly regulated and a number of countries, which includes the United States’ government agencies, classify it as a human carcinogen. When someone disturbs an asbestos-containing product, they also release the microscopic fibers into the air. If inhaled, these thin fibers can get trapped in the lungs. Over long periods of time, they can accumulate and cause inflammation, some scarring symptoms and other medical health problems. In certain cases, the fibers can even cause the development of lung cancer.
Researchers have reported the duration and concentration of asbestos exposure plays a role in the risk of developing lung cancer increases as much as four percent with each other of the exposure to asbestos. OSHA has demonstrated that there is a clear association between the concentration of asbestos exposure and the risk of lung cancer, seeking the higher the concentration of asbestos fibers, the higher the risk of occurring lung cancer. The implications of the exposure to asbestos are not going to be apparent immediately after the initial exposure. When asbestos fibers are first inhaled, they can be lodged in lining of the lungs. The size of fibrous asbestos affects where the substances will become lodged, which means that they will have implications on whether mesothelioma or lung cancer will develop. Researchers have discovered that 3mm fibers are more likely to get lodged in the lining of the lungs, while 5 mm fibers tend to lodge in the tissue inside the lung and will increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
