Analysis of asbestos concentration in 20 cases of pseudomesotheliomatous lung cancer

Mesothelioma is a rare neoplasm caused by asbestos exposure. The majority of mesotheliomas arise from the pleural lining of the thoracic cavity, but also involve the peritoneal and pericardial cavities. Another type of neoplasm referred to as pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma is rare. Most "pseudomesotheliomas" arise in the pleural tissue of the chest cavity and resemble pleural mesotheliomas, macroscopically and histologically. While most arise in the pleura, there are some that metastasize to the pleura from another site. We evaluated asbestos fiber concentrations in 20 cases of pseudomesotheliomatous lung cancer and found a significant number to contain an elevated concentration of asbestos in their lung tissue, which is similar with our study of 55 mesothelioma cases published in 1997. This would provide evidence that some pseudomesotheliomatous lung cancers are caused by asbestos.