What Are the Mesothelioma Causes?

What Are the Mesothelioma Causes?

Contact with asbestos is the leading cause of mesothelioma cancer, as nearly every patient diagnosed with this aggressive cancer came in contact with it at some point. Mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure commonly occurs occupationally, environmentally or as a result of secondhand exposure.

Risk Factors for Mesothelioma

Working at an asbestos mine or asbestos processing plant

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Working in a high-risk occupational setting, such as the construction or automotive industries

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Serving on military ships or facilities built with products containing asbestos

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Living in a residential area near an asbestos mine

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Disturbing asbestos products during a home renovation without proper safety measures

Exposure to Mineral Fibers

Exposure to zeolites, a class of fibrous minerals chemically similar to asbestos, may also increase the risk for mesothelioma. High rates of mesothelioma in a region of Turkey suggest that those living in that area and others working with a zeolite building material called erionite may be at risk for developing the disease.

Radiation Exposure

Exposure to radiation may increase mesothelioma risk, but evidence is rare and inconsistent. Several studies have shown the risk for mesothelioma slightly increases after a person receives radiation therapy as a treatment for other cancers.

Polio Vaccines and Simian Virus 40
Some studies suggest people who received a polio vaccine between 1955 and 1963 may have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. Tens of millions of polio vaccines during that nine-year span were infected by the simian virus 40 (SV40). Although the largest studies did not find a link between the virus and increased mesothelioma risk, the topic remains controversial as studies continue.

Genetics

Because only a small number of people exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma, scientists believe genetics can affect a person's risk for the cancer. Researchers have confirmed a mutation in a gene called BAP1 increases the likelihood of developing mesothelioma and melanoma of the eye.

Age and Gender

Mesothelioma is more commonly diagnosed in men than women, and rarely affects people younger than 45. This is because mesothelioma often takes decades to develop, and men are more likely to work in jobs where asbestos exposure occurs.

Is Smoking a Risk Factor?

Studies have shown that smoking is not a risk factor for mesothelioma. However, people who smoke and have been exposed to asbestos are much more likely to develop lung cancer. Some studies reveal that those who smoke are as much as 90 percent more likely to develop lung cancer if they also were exposed to asbestos.

Researchers also found that smoking can weaken lungs and reduce the body's ability to dispense of asbestos fibers trapped inside. Smoking also aggravates asbestosis, an incurable breathing disorder also caused by asbestos exposure.

Causes vs. Risk Factors

It is important to understand that a risk factor for mesothelioma is not necessarily a cause. Although research shows men are much more likely to develop mesothelioma than women, gender alone cannot cause the cancer. The same may be true for other risk factors.

The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma is so strong that it can be difficult for researchers to tell if any known risk factors can cause mesothelioma on their own. Although scientists continue to study this topic, exposure to asbestos remains the most clearly defined cause for mesothelioma.