Lung Cancer in those with both Asbestos exposure and smoking history … a real “who done it?”
Asbestos and smoking are well-known carcinogens capable of causing lung cancer. The two carcinogens act synergistically and have a multiplicative affect on the risk of developing lung cancer in a person exposed to both substances concurrently.
When a smoker quits, the risk of developing cancer recedes with the passage of time and approaches that of a non-smoker over a 10-15 year period, providing the smoker does not have a history of asbestos exposure.
Studies have also concluded that the risk of developing cancer does not recede with the passage of time for a non-smoking individual with exposure to asbestos. However, the recession of risk has never been studied in those with both a history of smoking and asbestos.
The interaction of both carcinogens is not well understood and continues to be studied medically and epidemiologically. Other asbestos-related cancers such as Mesothelioma are clearly related to asbestos exposure and unrelated to smoking history.