A new report says there is a relationship between asbestos exposure and larynx cancer, with suggestions that asbestos may also be a factor in colon and stomach cancers. The exact wording from the Institute of Medicine was “the evidence is:
- sufficient to infer a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and laryngeal cancer;
- suggestive but not sufficient to infer a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and pharyngeal, stomach, and colorectal cancers; and
- inadequate to infer a causal relationship between asbestos exposure and esophageal cancer.”
Sen. Arlen Specter, who is trying to push through a bill to establish a fund for asbestos victims in exchange for litigation reform, is asking the IOM for further study.