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3082250 
Journal Article 
Review 
Limitations in drawing etiologic inferences based on measurement of asbestos fibers from lung tissue 
Baker, DB 
1991 
Yes 
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
ISSN: 0077-8923
EISSN: 1749-6632 
643 
61-70 
English 
1809175 
WOS:A1991JM56800005 
Problems associated with the use of measuring the lung fiber burden of workers exposed to asbestos (1332214) to estimate asbestos dose were examined. Etiologic factors that need to be taken into account when evaluating lung fiber burden data were presented. These factors included the fiber clearance and dissolution rate, the relationship between lung fibers and cancers found in the pleura or peritoneum, and the extent to which asbestos acts as an early or late stage carcinogen. Epidemiologic considerations in the use of lung fiber burden measurements included selection bias or sampling errors, information bias or classification problems for exposures, tissue burdens or diseases, noncomparable study populations, and random errors due to chance variations. Limitations of lung fiber burden data were associated with preparation and examination of tissue samples, specifically in fiber counting procedures, type of microscopy used, limits of resolution, and the kinds of bodies identified. The author concludes that interpretations of asbestos burdens in the lung are limited and that caution should be exercised with respect to estimation of past exposures. 
asbestos; Toxicology Abstracts; tissues; diseases; relationship; X 24153:Metabolism 
Conference on the Third Wave of Asbestos Disease - Exposure to Place: Public Health Control 
New York, NY