Abstract
To the Editor.— It is known that in certain geographic areas of the world a considerable percentage of the population shows pleural calcifications that are not caused by asbestos exposure.1However, no increase in the incidence of malignant mesothelioma has been shown in these areas, except in the village of Karein Kappadokia in Turkey.2 A similar problem was found to exist in northern Greece. Pleural calcifications were noted on chest roentgenograms of a large number of residents of three neighboring villages (Metsovo, Anilio, and Milia) after an epidemiologic study for tuberculosis in 1969. It is notable that there have never been either mines or asbestos industries located within 100 km of these villages. A recent study3showed that 28% of the population of this area had pleural calcifications. A case of malignant mesothelioma in a resident of this specific region with no known asbestos exposure is presented. Report
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