In addition to mesothelioma and lung cancer, asbestos has been linked to a number of other cancers. Research is still determining the extent to which asbestos can trigger other types. What follows are some of the other cancers that are associated with the exposure to asbestos.
Laryngeal Cancer
Even though older researches conflict, a report in 2006 sponsored by the National Institutes of Health has indicated that there has yet to be sufficient scientific evidence which links the exposure to asbestos to the development of laryngeal cancer. The cancer of the larynx, which is known as the voice box, is rather rare. The American Cancer Society estimates than more than 13,000 cases will be diagnosed in 2012, the majority of which is more likely to be caused by heavy alcohol consumption and smoking, either active or passive.
Comparing the results of more than 50 epidemiological studies, the institute of Medicine found that the exposure to asbestos has significantly increased the incidence of laryngeal cancer. There is also evidence that the risk will get higher with the intensity and duration of asbestos exposure. Furthermore, the study has found that smoking, which is either alone or in combination with drinking, will contribute to the accumulation of asbestos fibers in the larynx.
Because the larynx lies directly in the path of an inhaled air, the fibers of asbestos can easily get lodged in the laryngeal mucosa. Some other studies have suggested that asbestos-containing sputum can land on the larynx after being coughed up from lungs.
Ovarian Cancer
A study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, known as IARC, has confirmed the causal relationship between the exposure to asbestos and ovarian cancer. Despite the minute documented cases of women that are exposed to asbestos and the misclassification of peritoneal mesothelioma as the cancer on a lot of death certificates, scientists have found that the exposure to asbestos notably multiplies the opportunity of developing ovarian malignancies.
Occupational studies have shown excess mortality from reproductive cancers, but there are some consistencies between the levels of incidences of ovarian cancer and the exposure to asbestos. The research evinced that the toxic fibers accumulate I the ovaries of women exposed to asbestos, yet the whole process of how they enter the lung is still questionable. Researchers assume that the use of talc on the genital area is the cause of the cancer. Evidence has also showed that there may be another reason to the cancer, which is mineral at factory where father or husband works.
Gastrointestinal Cancer
The World Health Organization has already associated gastrointestinal cancers with asbestos exposure, and a number of studies have reported the increased incidence of the cancers in the exposed populations. Gastrointestinal cancers can include tumors in a great number of locations along the gastrointestinal tract.In accordance with one major study of asbestos installation workers, the compounds are more likely to get trapped in the upper part of gastrointestinal tract (stomach and esophagus) than the lower sites (the rectum and colon).
