Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025
Implantation and Monitoring by PET/CT of an Orthotopic Model of Human Pleural Mesothelioma in Athymic Mice
Published on: December 21, 2019
Environmental asbestos exposure from nephrite jade mining and lung cancer
Hsiao-Yu Yang1, Sugio Furuya2, Naoki Toyama3
1Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, 10055, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, 10055, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, 100225, Taipei, Taiwan; Population Health Research Center, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
Background:
Nephrite is an asbestos mineral composed of tremolite and actinolite. Fengtian is a community where nephrite was mined between 1970 and 1980 and asbestos was mined between 1960 and 1985. The lung cancer risk to the surrounding community is unknown.
Aims:
To analyse the trend of lung cancer caused by environmental contamination from nephrite mining.
Methods:
We conducted a field survey of nephrite mines and tracked new cases of lung cancer from 1980 to 2019. We calculated the age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) and applied join-point regression to examine the lung cancer trend. We assessed the age effect, period effect, and birth cohort effect on lung cancer risk.
Results:
The nephrite mines were contaminated with chrysotile and tremolite/actinolite asbestos. A total of 278 new cases of lung cancer were reported during the study period. There was an apparent age effect and a slight period effect for lung cancer. After adjustment for the age and period effects, the birth cohort born between 1970 and 1980 during the period of nephrite mass production had the highest relative risk compared with other birth cohorts. The ASIR of lung cancer increased significantly from 1980 to 2010 (the annual percentage change = 6.8 %, 95 % CI: 4.0-9.7 %, P < 0.01) and then decreased 30 years after the cessation of nephrite jade mining.
Conclusion:
Nephrite mining increases the risk of lung cancer in nearby communities.
Related Concept Videos
02:17The Tumor Microenvironment
01:36Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
01:29Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...