Asbestos-related diseases

Asbestos-related disease, in particular affecting the lung, comprise of a broad spectrum of entities related to the inhalational exposure to asbestos fibers. They can be divided into benign and malignant processes ^1-3.

Benign pleural and parenchymal lung disease

• asbestos-related benign pleural disease

  • benign asbestos-induced pleural effusions: benign exudative ~20%

  • pleural plaques

    • almost always involve parietal pleura

    • visceral pleura involvement usually in the lower and lateral aspect (still, mediastinal involvement can be seen in ~40% ⁷)

    • particularly the involvement of the diaphragmatic dome is more specific for asbestos-related disease (coronal views help to judge this)

    • may be calcified, non-calcified or mixed

    • tend to spare the apices and costophrenic angles

  • diffuse pleural thickening: ~15% (asbestos related diffuse pleural thickening)

• round atelectasis (asbestos pseudotumor: Blesovsky syndrome)

• asbestosis: progressive pulmonary interstitial fibrosis

Malignant

• bronchogenic carcinoma

• mesothelioma: less common than bronchogenic carcinoma but has a higher prevalence of asbestos exposure

  • pleural mesothelioma

  • extrapleural (e.g. peritoneal) mesothelioma

• renal cell carcinoma ²

• laryngeal carcinoma ¹

• gastrointestinal tumors