What Are the Risk Factors for Mesothelioma?

Video Transcript

"The greatest risk factor is exposure to asbestos and in particular a subset of, of asbestos called amphiboles. These are are asbestos which is a mineral, magnesium silicate that has a long thin needle like structure and can penetrate the lung and go all the way to the, the outside of the lung which is called the pleura. What's interesting about asbestos exposure is there is a long latency period between the actual asbestos, asbestos exposure and the development of the mesothelioma, typically thirty to forty years which raises interesting question about how mesothelioma, mesothelioma actually comes about. The second risk factor in some patients would be radiation therapy to the chest. We're seeing this in patients with Hodegkins, lymphoma that have been radiated to the chest. They have an approximately thirty fold increase risk of developing mesothelioma and that appears to be largely independent of asbestos exposure. Interestingly some patients who were exposed to a virus called Simian Virus 40 or SV 40 which many of us were exposed to because Polio vaccines stalks were contaminated worldwide with this from 1954-1963, that can alter, so called Tumor Suppressor Gene Expression and lead in many patients to mesotheliomas among other cancers."