Research Links Asbestos to Larynx Cancer

June 7, 2006 - The Institute of Medicine has recently issued a report that links exposure to asbestos to other kinds of cancer, most notably laryngeal cancer.  Possible connections were also found to cancer of the upper throat, stomach, and colon. 

According to an article posted by the Reuters news network, the US Senate asked the Institute of Medicine to research links between asbestos and cancers of several organs that are currently listed in stalled legislation to create the controversial $140 billion asbestos injury compensation fund, as outlined in the Fairness in Asbestos Resolution (FAIR) Act.  The findings may cause members of the Congress to amend the bill to exclude cancers that have no definitive link to asbestos exposure. 

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa) has been the main proponent of the bill, which was tabled by the Senate in February of this year.  He notes that he’s seeking yet more guidance in the revision of the bill, which now includes those sickened due to exposure caused by the 9-11 tragedies as well as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

"We are asking the Institute of Medicine to give further study and a more definitive answer as to a possible causal connection between asbestos and pharyngeal, stomach and colorectal cancers," Specter said in a statement issued after the report was filed.

The FAIR Act would compensate asbestos victims via a fund financed by asbestos companies and their insurers.  It would eliminate the immense number of lawsuits that now tie up the courts. 

In its report, the institute noted that they found consistent evidence of asbestos-linked larynx cancer in several studies of both workers and the general population.

"Inhaled fibers pass through the larynx and may deposit there," the report stated. "There are reports of fibers and asbestos bodies being recovered from the laryngeal tissues".