Exposure to asbestos is a well-known cause of various cancers. There is a lot of evidence to unequivocally prove the relationship between asbestos and tumors in the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. Can asbestos cause kidney cancer?
Asbestos associated with the most common kidney cancer
Exposure to asbestos can lead to renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer, Italian studies show.
The connection with kidney cancer adds to the terrifying history of asbestos, a substance ultimately recognized as the cause of mesothelioma, lung cancer and many other respiratory diseases.
In the past, a handful of other cancers were inextricably linked to exposure to asbestos. However, a research team from the University of Pavia in Italy have advocated asbestos as the likely cause of renal cell carcinoma.
Relationships between asbestos exposure and kidney cancer
Until recently, there was little documentation on cases of kidney cancer directly related to asbestos exposure.
This changed in 2016. After the Italian scientific journal La Medicina del Lavoro published an article in which an elderly man died of cancer after prolonged exposure to asbestos, while several dozen years ago he worked cutting asbestos cement panels. There was something else about the Italian case.
Although this particular man’s deadly cancer could not be clearly linked to asbestos exposure, the surgery he had fourteen months earlier could. He was diagnosed with one kidney cancer and surgically removed.
The organ was removed at that time, and histology showed that it was contaminated with asbestos fibers. It seemed that undoubtedly internal exposure to asbestos fibers caused this cancer.
Exposure to asbestos is not a well-known risk factor
Obesity, smoking and genetic predisposition are typical risk factors for kidney cancer.
Some studies have related to exposure to several industrial chemicals. Asbestos is mentioned by some epidemiologists.
Many previous autopsies in patients have shown the presence of asbestos fibers in the urinary tract. Kidneys of patients highly exposed to asbestos contained large amounts of fiber of this mineral.
Compensatory cases
Although scientists hesitate to claim that asbestos causes kidney cancer, the weight of evidence to prove the causal relationship between asbestos and kidney cancer in claims for damages is lower than the demands of the scientific community. In this regard, the compensation committee of veterans (VA) opted for veterans seeking compensation for diagnoses of kidney cancer resulting from exposure to asbestos during their duties. In other words, compensation committees have confirmed the notion that exposure to asbestos and kidney cancer are interrelated and that patients with kidney cancer who can prove that they have been exposed to asbestos while on duty have the right to compensation from the US government
