What Are the Risk Factors for Malignant Mesothelioma?

A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease such as cancer.

Different cancers have different risk factors.

Asbestos

The main risk factor for developing mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Asbestos refers to a family of fibrous minerals made of silicate. Asbestos was once used in many products such as insulation, floor tiles, door gaskets, soundproofing, roofing, patching compounds, fireproof gloves and ironing board covers, and even brake pads. As the link between asbestos and mesothelioma has become well known, the use of this material has almost stopped. Most use stopped after 1989, but it is still used in some products. Experts have linked this drop in asbestos use to the fact that the rate of development of mesothelioma is no longer increasing.

Still, up to 8 million Americans may already have been exposed to asbestos. Exposure to asbestos particles suspended in air and building materials is much less hazardous except when they are being removed.

Since asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral, it can also be found in dust and rocks in certain parts of the United States as well as the world.

Another important point about asbestos and mesothelioma is that the risk of mesothelioma does not drop with time after exposure to asbestos. The risk appears to be lifelong and undiminished.

Radiation

There have been a few published reports of pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas that developed following exposure to thorium dioxide (Thorotrast). This material was used in the past by doctors for certain x-ray tests. Because Thorotrast was found to cause cancers, it has not been used for many years.

Zeolite

This is a silicate mineral, chemically related to asbestos, common in the soil of the Anatoli region of Turkey. Many cases of mesothelioma have been described in this region and may have been caused by this mineral.

Tobacco

Although tobacco smoking has not been associated with developing mesothelioma, the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure greatly increases the risk of lung cancer. Asbestos workers who also smoke have a lung cancer risk 50 to 90 times greater than that of the general population. More asbestos workers die of lung cancer than of mesothelioma.