Definition of Asbestos cancer

Asbestos is the name given to a group of minerals that occur naturally in the environment as bundles of fibers and can be separated into thin, durable threads. These fibers are resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals and do not conduct electricity.

For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries.

There are two subgroups of asbestos: chrysotile, which has curly fibers and is in the serpentine family of minerals; and amphibole asbestos, which has straight, needle-like fibers and includes actinolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite, and amosite asbestos.

Chrysotile asbestos is the form that has been used predominantly in commercial applications worldwide.

How is asbestos used?
Asbestos was mined and used commercially in North America beginning in the late 1800s. Its use increased greatly during World War II (3, 4).

Since then, asbestos has been used in many industries. For example, the building and construction industry has used it for strengthening cement and plastics as well as for insulation, roofing, fireproofing, and sound absorption.

The shipbuilding industry has used asbestos to insulate boilers, steampipes, and hot water pipes. The automotive industry uses asbestos in vehicle brakeshoes and clutch pads.

Asbestos has also been used in ceiling and floor tile;
paints, coatings, and adhesives; and plastics.

In addition, asbestos has been found in vermiculite-containing consumer garden products and some talc-containing crayons.

Who is at risk for an asbestos-related disease?
Everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life.
Low levels of asbestos are present in the air, water, and soil.
However, most people do not become ill from their exposure.
People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact.

Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos. Health hazards from asbestos fibers have been recognized in workers exposed in shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, manufacturing of asbestos textiles and other asbestos products, insulation work in the construction and building trades, and a variety of other trades.

Demolition workers, drywall removers, asbestos removal workers, firefighters, and automobile workers also may be exposed to asbestos fibers.
However, recent studies do not support an increased risk of lung cancer or mesothelioma among automobile mechanics exposed to asbestos through brake repair (10). As a result of Government regulations and improved work practices, today’s workers (those without previous exposure) are likely to face smaller risks than did those exposed in the past.

Those involved in the rescue, recovery, and cleanup at the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City are another group at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.

Because asbestos was used in the construction of the North Tower of the WTC, when the building was attacked, hundreds of tons of asbestos were released into the atmosphere. Those at greatest risk include firefighters, police officers, paramedics, construction workers, and volunteers who worked in the rubble at Ground Zero. Others at risk include residents in close proximity to the WTC towers and those who attended schools nearby.

These populations will need to be followed to determine the long-term health consequences of their exposure
Asbestos is a general term applied to certain fibrous minerals long popular for their thermal resistance, tensile strength, and acoustic insulation properties. Asbestos minerals are divided into two groups: serpentine and amphibole. Only one type of asbestos is derived from serpentine minerals: chrysotile, also known as white asbestos.

Amphibole minerals include five asbestos species: amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. Two of these are the most commercially valuable
forms: amosite, or brown asbestos, and crocidolite, or blue asbestos.

More than 30 million tons of asbestos in its various forms have been mined in the past century. Asbestos is one of the most pervasive environmental hazards in the world, present in more than 3,000 manufactured products.

All forms of asbestos can result in asbestosis (a progressive fibrotic disease of the lungs), lung cancer, and mesothelioma, a cancer arising in the membranes lining the pleural and peritoneal cavities.

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Newly Identified Gene Powerful Predictor Of Colon Cancer Metastasis - Low Gene Activity - Higher Survival Rate

Cancer Researchers at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charite - Universitats Medizin Berlin (Germany) have identified a gene which enables them to predict for the first time with high probability if colon cancer is going to metastasize. Assistant Professor Dr. Ulrike Stein, Professor Peter M. Schlag, and Professor Walter Birchmeier were able to demonstrate that the gene MACC1 (Metastasis-Associated in Colon Cancer 1) not only promotes tumor growth but also the development of metastasis.When MACC1 gene activity is low, the life expectancy of patients with colon cancer is longer in comparison to patients with high MACC1 levels. (Nature Medicine, doi: 10.1038/nm.1889)*.

According to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, more than 108,000 people developed colon cancer in the US in 2008. Despite surgery, chemo- and radiotherapy, only 50 percent of patients can be cured because 20 percent of the patients have already developed metastasis by the time their colon cancer is diagnosed. In addition, one-third of patients whose treatment of the original colon cancer was successful will, nevertheless, go on to develop metastasis.

The MDC and Charité researchers are convinced that the identification of the MACC1 gene will aid medical doctors in identifying those patients as early as possible who are at high risk of developing life-threatening metastasis in the liver and the lungs. As a result, more intensive treatment and follow-up care could be offered to high risk patients.

MACC1 turns on a signaling pathway which is important for tumor growth and the formation of metastasis. Researchers call this pathway HGF/Met signaling pathway. Once MACC1 has activated this HGF/Met signaling pathway, tumor cells proliferate much faster, get rid of their ties within the cellular tissue, and eventually settle down as metastasis at various sights throughout the body far from the original tumor.

High MACC1 Levels - Higher Risk for Metastasis

The researchers discovered the MACC1 gene by comparing tissue from healthy persons with tissue from 103 patients with colon cancer between 20 to 88 years of age. Sixty (60) cancer patients had no metastasis at the time they underwent surgery.

Of these 60 patients, 37 had no metastasis five years after surgery and treatment. These patients were shown to have had low levels of MACC1 when first diagnosed with colon cancer. In contrast, 23 patients had developed metastasis in the course of five years after surgery. Researchers detected high levels of MACC1 in their colon cancer tissue. Thus, patients with high MACC1 levels have a much higher risk for developing metastasis than patients with a MACC1 gene that is not very active.

The researchers are convinced that MACC1 will enable physicians to decide if a patient needs a more intense therapy or if a less aggressive treatment is sufficient. "The expression analysis of MACC1 in the original tumor tissue will probably contribute to individualize and optimize colon cancer therapy", they assume.

Now the MDC and Charite researchers and their colleagues want to find out if the MACC1 gene also allows for a more precise prediction about the outcome of lung cancer, breast cancer, and stomach cancer.

MACC1, a newly identified key regulator of HGF-Met signaling, predicts colon cancer metastasis

Ulrike Stein1,2, Wolfgang Walther1,2, Franziska Alt1,2, Holger Schwabe2, Janice Smith1, Iduna Fichtner1, Walter Birchmeier1, Peter M. Schlag 1,2

1Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert RössleStrasse 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany 2Department of Surgery and Surgical Oncology, Robert Rössle Cancer Hospital Charité University Medicine Berlin, Lindenberger Weg 80, 13125 Berlin, Germany

Foundation under Public Law
Directors:
Prof. Walter Birchmeier, PhD., Cornelia Lanz

Member of the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres

Further information: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/colon-and-rectal

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