• Serosal membranes very rarely become malignant except with Mesothelioma.
• It is not asbestos fiber dose dependent.
• It is not cigarette smoking dose related.
• Probably occurs only in cases where there was prior evidence of a pleurisy (benign) usually with evidence of pleural thickening.
• Latency is different (usually longer) than any other known malignancy.
• 275 day median survival is more in keeping with an uncontrollable infection (all be it a malignant one) than a solid tumor growth pattern.
• Simian 40 virus DNA parts have been found in mesothelioma specimens.
• Rarely if ever found as a distant metastasis (e.g. brain or liver spread).

I believe it is a viral infection gone malignant e.g. HIV type malignant behavior so that it looks more like asbestos fiber activation of a common virus infection in turn causing a variety of clinical conditions. Many of these clinical conditions can be quite innocuous. In benign pleural effusions we don’t find a pleural cavity full of asbestos needles – It would appear we haven’t been culturing for the right agent.

If Mesothelioma is a rogue viral infection - then there is the possibility of developing a vaccine and offering vaccination to asbestos exposed people who are at heightened risk of developing future asbestos related malignancies.

Q: Is asbestos a co-carcinogen to a viral infection?
A: Needs to be studied...