[Malignant mesothelioma in families of asbestos workers].
Malignant mesothelioma is primarily an occupational disease of asbestos workers. While there is usually a latent period of 20-40 years between exposure and appearance of the tumor, the duration of exposure may be as short as a single month. Rarely, it may appear in family members and others living with asbestos workers who might be exposed to asbestos from work clothes during laundering, or from fibers on the skin or hair of the asbestos worker. Attention should therefore be paid to those with nonoccupational contact with asbestos. We report 2 cases of pleural mesothelioma in families of asbestos workers. In both cases the laundering of work clothes was done at home. The first was a 33-year-old man; during his childhood his father worked with asbestos boards for 5 years. The second was a 76-year-old woman whose husband worked in an asbestos factory for 32 years, up to 18 years before diagnosis.
Roguin
A
A
Dept. of Medicine A, Western Galilee Regional Hospital, Nahariya and Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa.
Ben-Shahar
M
M
Ben-Dror
G
G
Cohen
I
I
Hazani
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D001194:Asbestos / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003020:Clothing; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007846:Laundering; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000209:etiology*; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D001194:Asbestos