Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Asbestos refers to a family of six silicate minerals that contain silicon and oxygen embodied as fbrous aggregates of long, thin crystals that can readily separate. Among its remarkably useful attributes are its resistance to fre, tensile strength, ?exibility, softness, and affordability, with early usage of asbestos dating back at least two millennia. In their fascinating historical account of the ups-and-downs of asbestos’ past, Alleman and Mossman alluded to the irony of the asbestos tragedy, i.e., that the medical catastrophe would never have become so severe had the industrial world not previously found the substance to be so valuable commercially.  Over the years, asbestos has been used to weave cloaks, tablecloths, theater curtains, and ?ameproof suits for shielding against fres. Other everyday uses have included automobile brake shoes, air flters for military gas masks, hospital ventilators, and even cigarette flters. Mixed with rubber, asbestos permitted the development of durable steam engine components, such as steam gaskets. When melded into tar, burlap, and paper, asbestos fbers provided fre-resistant roofng material, thereby opening up a vast industry of asbestos-based construction products. Mixtures of asbestos and cement were heavily used for paneling in buildings and ships, as well as for pipes and synthetic slate roof shingles. When mixed with plastic, asbestos was used in everything from electrical boards to telephones, and vinylasbestos tiles became paramount in the ?ooring industry, including in schools. In skyscrapers, spray-on asbestos coating was used to protect steel structures against fre-induced buckling.

Contents
1 Malignant Mesothelioma: An Asbestos Legacy
2 Asbestos and Fibrous Erionite
3 Epidemiology of Mesothelioma
4 Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: History, Controversy, and Future of a Man-Made Epidemic
5 Communities at High Risk in the Third Wave of Mesothelioma
6 Mesothelioma Pathology
7 Asbestos-Induced Inflammation in Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Lung Diseases
8 Germline and Somatic Mutations in Human Mesothelioma and Lessons from Asbestos-Exposed Genetically Engineered Mouse Models
9 Gene Signature of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
10 Cell Signaling and Epigenetic Mechanisms in Mesothelioma
11 3D Models of Mesothelioma in the Study of Mechanisms of Cell Survival
12 Biomarkers of Response to Asbestos Exposure
13 Surgery Approaches in Mesothelioma
14 Radiotherapy and Photodynamic Therapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
15 Standard Chemotherapy Options and Clinical Trials of Novel Agents for Mesothelioma
16 Immunotherapeutic Approaches to Mesothelioma
17 Challenges Facing Mesothelioma Patients and Their Families: Medical/Legal Intersections
18 The Patient’s Experience of Malignant Mesothelioma