This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dogan, A. U. Articles by Carbone, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dogan, A. U. Articles by Carbone, M.

Genetic Predisposition to Fiber Carcinogenesis Causes a Mesothelioma Epidemic in Turkey

¹ Department of Geological Engineering, Ankara University; ² Chest Diseases Division, Guven Hospital; Departments of ³ Geological Engineering and ⁴ Pulmonary Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey; ⁵ Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; ⁶ Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and ⁷ Thoracic Oncology Program, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University, Maywood, Illinois

Requests for reprints: Michele Carbone, Thoracic Oncology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, 651 Ilalo Street, BSB Room 228, Honolulu, HI 96813. E-mail: mcarbone{at}crch.hawaii.edu.

Malignant mesothelioma in the western world is often associated with asbestos exposure. It is a relatively rare cancer that causes 2,500 deaths yearly in the United States and 1,000 deaths yearly in the United Kingdom. In contrast, among people born in the Cappadocian (Turkey) villages of Tuzkoy, Karain, and "Old" Sarihidir, 50% of deaths are caused by malignant mesothelioma. This epidemic has been attributed to erionite exposure, a type of fibrous zeolite mineral commonly found in this area of Turkey. In these three villages, malignant mesothelioma occurs in certain houses but not in others. The hypothesis was that a unique and more carcinogenic erionite was present in certain houses and caused malignant mesothelioma. We determined the X-ray diffraction pattern and the crystal structure of erionite from malignant mesothelioma villages and compared the results with the erionite samples from nearby non–malignant mesothelioma villages and from the United States. We found the same type of erionite in Cappadocian villages, with or without a malignant mesothelioma epidemic, in households with high or no incidence of malignant mesothelioma and in the United States. Pedigree studies of the three malignant mesothelioma villages showed that malignant mesothelioma was prevalent in certain families but not in others. When high-risk malignant mesothelioma family members married into families with no history of it, malignant mesothelioma appeared in the descendants. Genetically predisposed family members born and raised outside the malignant mesothelioma villages did not seem to develop malignant mesothelioma. In summary, pedigree and mineralogical studies indicate that the malignant mesothelioma epidemic is caused by erionite exposure in genetically predisposed individuals. This is the first time that genetics is shown to influence mineral fiber carcinogenesis. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(10): 5063-68)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Bertino, F. Piccardi, C. Porta, R. Favoni, M. Cilli, L. Mutti, and G. Gaudino Imatinib Mesylate Enhances Therapeutic Effects of Gemcitabine in Human Malignant Mesothelioma Xenografts Clin. Cancer Res., January 15, 2008; 14(2): 541 - 548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Cristaudo, R. Foddis, A. Vivaldi, G. Guglielmi, N. Dipalma, R. Filiberti, M. Neri, M. Ceppi, M. Paganuzzi, G. P. Ivaldi, et al. Clinical Significance of Serum Mesothelin in Patients with Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., September 1, 2007; 13(17): 5076 - 5081. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Robinson, I. van Bruggen, A. Segal, M. Dunham, A. Sherwood, F. Koentgen, B. W.S. Robinson, and R. A. Lake A Novel SV40 TAg Transgenic Model of Asbestos-Induced Mesothelioma: Malignant Transformation Is Dose Dependent. Cancer Res., November 15, 2006; 66(22): 10786 - 10794. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Kroczynska, R. Cutrone, M. Bocchetta, H. Yang, A. G. Elmishad, P. Vacek, M. Ramos-Nino, B. T. Mossman, H. I. Pass, and M. Carbone Crocidolite asbestos and SV40 are cocarcinogens in human mesothelial cells and in causing mesothelioma in hamsters PNAS, September 19, 2006; 103(38): 14128 - 14133. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Yang, M. Bocchetta, B. Kroczynska, A. G. Elmishad, Y. Chen, Z. Liu, C. Bubici, B. T. Mossman, H. I. Pass, J. R. Testa, et al. TNF-{alpha} inhibits asbestos-induced cytotoxicity via a NF-{kappa}B-dependent pathway, a possible mechanism for asbestos-induced oncogenesis PNAS, July 5, 2006; 103(27): 10397 - 10402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. S. Plumlee, S. A. Morman, and T. L. Ziegler The Toxicological Geochemistry of Earth Materials: An Overview of Processes and the Interdisciplinary Methods Used to Understand Them Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2006; 64(1): 5 - 57. [Full Text] [PDF]