Nevada Cancer Trend Raises a Red Flag for Researchers, According to Surviving Mesothelioma
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) February 16, 2015 -- New evidence suggests there may be a higher risk of environmentally-triggered mesothelioma in two Nevada counties. Click here to read the full story on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Alerted by the unusually higher number of mesothelioma cases in women and people under 55 in some parts of Nevada, researchers from Nevada, Hawaii and Pennsylvania analyzed the state’s soil for asbestos.
“We identified the presence of carcinogenic minerals in Nevada, including actinolite asbestos, erionite, winchite, magnesioriebeckite and richterite,” states senior author Michele Carbone of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
As the authors point out in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, both asbestos and erionite have been shown to cause mesothelioma when accidentally inhaled or ingested.
“Since mesothelioma is usually thought of as an industrial disease, it is easy to forget that the workplace is not the only place where asbestos exposure occurs,” says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor of Surviving Mesothelioma. “This study is a grim reminder that we all need to be aware of environmental hot spots for asbestos and erionite.”
For more on the study, including which Nevada counties pose the highest risk for mesothelioma, see The Mesothelioma Threat in Nevada’s Soil, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Baumann, F et al, “The presence of asbestos in the natural environment is likely related to mesothelioma in young individuals and women from Southern Nevada”, February 7, 2015, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Epub head of print, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25668121
For nearly ten years, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.
Michael Ellis, Cancer Monthy, http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com, +1 (919) 570-8595, [email protected]
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