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At this point, most people are aware of the connection between asbestos exposure and the development of a rare cancer known as mesothelioma. While this connection may be well known, what many people don’t know is how, exactly, exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma to develop.
The way asbestos fibers are able to cause pleural mesothelial cells to mutate has everything to do with the fibers’ unique chemical and physical properties. These fibers can shred down to the microscopic level, which can directly affect cellular DNA. A combination of cell death, inflammation, and elevated mutagen levels can then trigger a chain reaction in affected cells of the lungs’ pleural lining.
How Asbestos Fibers Can Mutate DNA to Trigger Mutation and Mesothelioma Growth
According to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), “asbestos minerals have separable long fibers that are strong and flexible enough to be spun and woven and are heat resistant. Because of these characteristics, asbestos has been used for a wide range of manufactured goods.”
The fibrous nature of asbestos also creates its main health problem: these fibers can divide into rigid yet microscopically small components. They also tend to have a molecular structure similar to porcupine’s quills. Once the fibers become embedded in cellular tissues, they can be practically impossible to remove.
Asbestos fibers are particularly dangerous when inhaled. Workers exposed to asbestos without protections — and others who encountered secondary exposure — would potentially inhale millions of fibers over the course of their lifetime.
Inhaled asbestos fibers that become embedded in lung tissues can cause cellular damage, inflammation, and cell death. Many of these fibers will actually work through lung tissues into the surrounding mesothelial lining of the lungs (the pleural mesothelium).
Over time, inflammation and cumulative cell damage can create thicker-than-normal tissues that have a dramatically increased risk of mutating into cancerous growth. Some studies suggest that cellular changes can cause mutagenic hormones to accumulate, which means that once a tumor forms it can spread quickly across the pleural lining, creating the condition known as mesothelioma.
In sum, asbestos fibers are easy to inhale and all but impossible to remove. These fibers can cause damage to tissues that leads to irreversible cellular transformations, making the development of malignant cancers highly likely.
