Asbestos-related Benign Diseases Research Articles

Affections pleuropulmonaires bénignes liées à l’amiante

Among the non malignant diseases related to asbestos exposure, pleural plaques are the most frequent. Pleural effusion and diffuse pleural thickening, as well as asbestosis, are uncommon nowadays in asbestos-exposed screened populations. Despite the absence of any useful treatment, accurate diagnoses of these diseases are needed for two reasons: on the one hand in order to save patients from anxiety related to diagnostic and prognostic discrepancies, and on the other hand in order to ensure a proper attribution of the high social and financial compensations which are provided in France for asbestos affected patients. CT scan of the thorax is the most sensitive and specific tool for a precise diagnosis of these lesions, but it often displays minute abnormalities which may give rise to major diagnostic discordances, owing to the absence of any tomodensitometric reference in populations proved to be free from any asbestos exposure. There is a need to seek for a suitable standardization of imaging technique and interpretation, for a consensus in the characterization of CTscan abnormalities that warrant compensation, and for a careful medico-psychologic assistance for patients affected by asbestos-related benign diseases.

Asbestos-related benign disease and cancer

Long lasting occupational exposure to asbestos dust may cause skin corns, benign pleural effusion, hyaline plaques of the parietal pleura, diffuse thickening of the pulmonary pleura, and asbestosis, i.e. diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Malignant disorders include lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. In general, many years elapse from first exposure to the appearance of symptoms. Almost all these diseases are the result of dusty working conditions more than 20 years ago. In spite of the fact that the general public is invariably exposed to small amounts of the material, asbestos is not a public health problem. Even living in a building containing sprayed asbestos is calculated to produce a lifetime risk of death which is negligible. There is no evidence to indicate that ingested asbestos fibres represent a major health problem.