Epidemiological Evidence for Radiation-Induced Mesothelioma

Introduction

photo-3Malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the chest, abdomen or pericardium, has an incidence of only two to five cases per million people per year in the general population of the United States. Over the last several decades, however, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of malignant mesotheliomas diagnosed.

Zeolite (eronite), a natural occurring silicate found in Turkey, is associated with the large number of mesotheliomas seen in the population there.(1) It is alleged, however, that in the industrialized nations, occupational exposure to asbestos is the leading cause of diffuse malignant mesothelioma …