ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS - FACTOR IN THE RISING RATE OF CANCER IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD

Smoking history constitutes an essential part of the clinical investigation of lung cancer as well as other chronic lung diseases. Second only to a smoking history, however, and of comparable importance, an occupational history remains a most powerful, and yet singularly underutilized tool. Thus, though the present discussion has centered on asbestos, it is not inappropriate to remind ourselves as clinicians that there are of the order of 30 other recognized human carcinogens, some of the more common being nickel, arsenic, chrome, uranium and the chlormethyl ethers, all of which may be encountered at the workplace and all of which should be integrated into the physician's schema for a systematic and complete work history.