Other cancers linked to asbestos exposure

While exposure to asbestos has been linked to a variety of illnesses (including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma), new research has linked asbestos exposure with even more forms of deadly cancer, making the toxic substance even more dangerous than originally thought.

Commercial asbestos is now linked to ovarian cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Also, the WHO re-confirmed that asbestos causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, and also linked asbestos exposure to the development of cancer of the larynx.

Typically, asbestos fibers enter the body through inhalation, and in rare instances, when they are swallowed. The three “recognized” forms of mesothelioma are pleural mesothelioma (occurs in the lungs), peritoneal mesothelioma (occurs in the abdomen), and pericardial mesothelioma (occurs in the lining of the heart). A very small number of mesothelioma cases have been reported in other parts of the body, such as with testicular mesothelioma.