Abstract
The carcinogenicity of thorium dioxide sol (Thorotrast), an X-ray contrast medium used in 1930–1955, in the liver and bone marrow has been established and agrees well with the effects of a high dosage of α radiation in the organs. Recently, however, German and Danish epidemiologic studies have shown excess mesotheliomas in the pleura and peritoneum that are unlikely to have been heavily irradiated by α particles. To confirm these observations, we examined the incidence of the cancer in those who underwent Thorotrast injections into blood vessels (n=370) by using autopsy files of the Japanese Thorotrast study. Only one malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum was registered, whereas three peritoneal or retroperitoneal sarcomas were observed. Thus, our study did not find any increment of mesothelioma in Thorotrast patients. However, when we took the pleuroperitoneal and retroperitoneal malignancies altogether, the incidence (4/370=1.1%) was five times more frequent than that (344/162000=0.2%) in the controls (P<0.005). Clinicopathological data of the four cases are also presented.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson M, Carstensen B, Storm HH (1995) Mortality and cancer incidence after cerebral arteriography with or without Thorotrast. Radiat Res 142:305–320
Antman KH, Corson JM, Li FP, Greengerger J, Sytkowski A, Henson DE, Weinstein L (1983) Malignant mesothelioma following radiation exposure. J Clin Oncol 1:695–700
Hammar SP, Dodson RF (1994) Asbestos. In: Dail DH, Hammar SP (eds) Pulmonary pathology, 2nd edn. Springer, New York Berlin Heidelberg, pp 901–984
Iseki M, Kishikawa M, Nishimori I, Okumura Y (1984) Thorotrastadministered cases in Nagasaki (in Japanese). Nagasaki Igakkai Zasshi 59:324–327
Ishikawa Y, Mori T, Kato Y, Tsuchiya E, Machinami R, Sugano H, Kitagawa T (1992) Lung cancers associated with Thorotrast exposure: high incidence of small cell carcinoma and implications for estimation of radon risk. Int J Cancer 52:570–574
Ishikawa Y, Mori T, Kato T, Machinami R, Priest ND, Kitagawa T (1993a) Systemic deposits of thorium in Thorotrast patients with particular reference to sites of minor storage. Radiat Res 135:244–248
Ishikawa Y, Kato Y, Mori T, Machinami R, Kitagawa T (1993b) Alphaparticle dose to the liver and spleen tissues of Japanese Thorotrast patients. Health Phys 65:497–506
Japanese Society of Pathology (1959–1993) Annual of the pathological autopsy cases in Japan, vol 1–35. Japanese Society of Pathology, Tokyo
Kaick G van, Wesch H, Luehrs H, Liebermann D, Kaul A (1995) Epidemiological results and dosimetric calculations—an update of the German Thorotrast study. In: Kaick G van, Karaoglou A, Kellerer AM (eds) Health effects of internally deposited radionuclides: emphasis on radium and thorium (EUR 15877 EN). World Scientific, Singapore, pp 171–175
Kaick G van, Wesch H, Luehrs H, Liebermann D, Kaul A, Muth H (1989) The German Thorotrast study—report on 20 years followup. Br Inst Radiol Rep 21:98–104
Mori T, Kato Y, Matsudaira H, Machinami R, Akita Y, Fukutomi K, Hatakeyama S, Tanooka H, Maruyama T, Kumatori T (1995) Recent results in the first series of the Japanese follow-up study of Thorotrast patients and their relationships with statistical analyses of autopsy series. In: Kaick G van, Karaoglou A, Kellerer AM (eds) Health effects of internally deposited radionuclides: emphasis on radium and thorium (EUR 15877 EN). World Scientific, Singapore, pp 181–191
Spiethoff A, Wesch H, Wegener K, Hanisch E, Kaul A (1994) Translocation of Thorotrast in the body. Radiat Res 138:409–414
Takasugi M (1963) An autopsy case of chalked spleen and retroperitoneal sarcoma after Thorotrast injection (in Japanese). Saishin Igaku 18:183–193
Takezawa H, Amayo T, Kosaka Y, Naruse S, Yamagiwa H (1966) Clinicopathological conference I: a case of mesothelioma following administration of Thorotrast (in Japanese). Mie Igaku 10:173–176
Wegener K, Wesch H, Kampmann H (1976) Investigations into human thorotrastosis. Tissue concentrations of232Th and late effects in 13 autopsy cases. Virchows Arch [A] Anat Histol 371:131–143
Wesch H, Kampmann H, Wegener K (1973) Assessment of organ distribution of thorium by neutron-activation-analysis. In: Faber M (ed) Proceedings of the third international meeting on the toxicity of Thorotrast (Risø report no. 294). Danish Atomic Energy Commission, Roskilde, Denmark, pp 52–60
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Work dedicated to Dr. Haruo Sugano on the occasion of his 70th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ishikawa, Y., Mori, T. & Machinami, R. Lack of apparent excess of malignant mesothelioma but increased overall malignancies of peritoneal cavity in Japanese autopsies with Thorotrast injection into blood vessels. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 121, 567–570 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01197771
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01197771