Asbestos Linked to Larynx Cancer

"Asbestos Linked to Larynx Cancer"

June 7, 2006
A government report released on Tuesday added larynx cancer, cancer of the voice box, to the list of diseases that have been linked to exposure to asbestos, a group of fibrous minerals used for decades in a wide variety of industries.

The U.S. Senate appointed the Institute of Medicine to evaluate the link between asbestos exposure and a number of cancers that are listed in the proposed asbestos bill that would create a $140 billion trust fund to compensate those who have been injured due to asbestos exposure.

The Institute did find consistent evidence of asbestos-related larynx cancer in the 34 studies that were assessed.

Inhaled fibers pass through the larynx and may deposit there, the report stated, adding, there are reports of fibers and asbestos bodies being recovered from the laryngeal tissues.

Researchers found that people exposed to the toxic fibers have on average a 40 percent increased risk of developing laryngeal cancer compared to those with no exposure.

In addition, the report concluded that people exposed to high levels of asbestos such as workers in the mining, milling, construction, and textile industries had two to three times the risk of laryngeal cancer.

While there was some evidence that linked asbestos exposure to cancer of the upper throat, stomach, colon, and rectum, the results were not sufficient enough to attribute asbestos as a definitive cause.

This data will be presented at a Senate meeting on Wednesday that will discuss the revised version of the proposed asbestos bill.

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