Abstract
The large size of the population that has had asbestos exposure makes pleural plaques a frequent health concern for these workers' families, as well as to their employers and to the medical and legal personnel involved. Recent increases in public and health professional awareness of asbestos effects is increasing the vigor with which plaques are sought diagnostically. Previous studies of the significance of pleural plaques have yielded conflicting results. We have therefore conducted a nested case-control study of a cohort of asbestos-exposed workers to determine whether pleural plaques are a risk factor for development of asbestos-associated malignancy. This study found no association between pleural plaques and asbestos-associated malignancies that were independent of other causative factors such as duration of asbestos exposure, age, and cigarette smoking. Although pleural plaques do indicate exposure, we do not believe their presence or absence should be used to allocate cancer screening resources among similarly exposed asbestos workers. If workers are known to have had significant exposure, it appears unwise to deny them appropriate examinations that they might otherwise receive simply because pleural plaque is not detected.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 641-644 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Occupational Medicine |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| State | Published - 1987 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
Pleural plaques and asbestos-associated malignancy. / Harber, Philip I; Mohsenifar, Z.; Oren, A.; Lew, M.
In: Journal of Occupational Medicine, Vol. 29, No. 8, 1987, p. 641-644.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Pleural plaques and asbestos-associated malignancy
AU - Harber, Philip I
AU - Mohsenifar, Z.
AU - Oren, A.
AU - Lew, M.
PY - 1987
Y1 - 1987
N2 - The large size of the population that has had asbestos exposure makes pleural plaques a frequent health concern for these workers' families, as well as to their employers and to the medical and legal personnel involved. Recent increases in public and health professional awareness of asbestos effects is increasing the vigor with which plaques are sought diagnostically. Previous studies of the significance of pleural plaques have yielded conflicting results. We have therefore conducted a nested case-control study of a cohort of asbestos-exposed workers to determine whether pleural plaques are a risk factor for development of asbestos-associated malignancy. This study found no association between pleural plaques and asbestos-associated malignancies that were independent of other causative factors such as duration of asbestos exposure, age, and cigarette smoking. Although pleural plaques do indicate exposure, we do not believe their presence or absence should be used to allocate cancer screening resources among similarly exposed asbestos workers. If workers are known to have had significant exposure, it appears unwise to deny them appropriate examinations that they might otherwise receive simply because pleural plaque is not detected.
AB - The large size of the population that has had asbestos exposure makes pleural plaques a frequent health concern for these workers' families, as well as to their employers and to the medical and legal personnel involved. Recent increases in public and health professional awareness of asbestos effects is increasing the vigor with which plaques are sought diagnostically. Previous studies of the significance of pleural plaques have yielded conflicting results. We have therefore conducted a nested case-control study of a cohort of asbestos-exposed workers to determine whether pleural plaques are a risk factor for development of asbestos-associated malignancy. This study found no association between pleural plaques and asbestos-associated malignancies that were independent of other causative factors such as duration of asbestos exposure, age, and cigarette smoking. Although pleural plaques do indicate exposure, we do not believe their presence or absence should be used to allocate cancer screening resources among similarly exposed asbestos workers. If workers are known to have had significant exposure, it appears unwise to deny them appropriate examinations that they might otherwise receive simply because pleural plaque is not detected.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0023215412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0023215412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 3655947
AN - SCOPUS:0023215412
VL - 29
SP - 641
EP - 644
JO - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
SN - 1076-2752
IS - 8
ER -