Mesotheliomas Attributed to Cell Replication Errors

Tomasetti & Vogelstein (2015) described how many cancers were not preventable.  The authors purported to show that “[t]he majority of cancer is due to ‘bad luck,’ that is, random mutations arising during DNA replication in normal, noncancerous stem cells.”

Tomasetti, et al. (2017) went further.  The authors examined many more cancers, including mesothelioma.  They found most mesotheliomas were caused by environmental exposures, but about 34% were the result of cell replication errors.  This is consistent with case-control studies, modeling using SEER data, and reported historic mesothelioma rates from time periods in the US and other countries when the rates were not likely significantly influenced by amphibole asbestos exposure.