Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura in a worker with brief atypical exposure to chrysotile asbestos

BACKGROUND: The appearance of malignant mesothelioma in workers exposed to asbestos dusts even for relatively short periods of time is amply demonstrated in the literature. The workers however were usually exposed to amphiboles in jobs well known as involving exposure, that are characterized by high levels of dusts. OBJECTIVES: To describe a clinical case of pleural mesothelioma that occurred in a patient exposed to chrysotile, in a job (driver) that cannot be directly linked to such high exposure, and which moreover he only did for a few months. METHODS: The clinical history was reconstructed by analyzing the clinical files of the hospital admittances from May 2002 to August 2003, during which the patient underwent radiological examinations (chest x-rays, chest and abdomen TC), cytological examination of the pleural fluid, videothoracoscopic surgery with histological examination (including immunohistochemical coloration) of the tissue taken in biopsy. The job history, as well as any possible non-occupational exposures to asbestos, was examined via a standardised questionnaire, which the patient himself answered, as used in the Lombardy Mesothelioma Register, in operation at the "Clinica del Lavoro" in Milan. RESULTS: Examination of all clinical files confirmed the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Analysis of job history was found appropriate for defining as certain an occupational aetiology due to inhalation of asbestos fibres which occurred for few months as a truck driver in a chrysotile mine.