Asbestos exposure and lymphomas of the gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity.

An epidemiological case-control study of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas revealed an excess of male patients with large-cell lymphomas primary to the gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity who had evidence of substantial exposure to asbestos. Between 1977 and 1981, 28 men with large-cell lymphomas primary to these sites were interviewed about previous environmental exposure. Pathology slides from 26 of these cases were reviewed by haematopathologists, who confirmed each to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of large-cell type. Neighbourhood controls were matched to patients for age, race, and sex. 13 matched pairs were discordant for asbestos exposure, and in 12 of these the exposed individual was a lymphoma patient. 10 patients and 1 control also reported a history of malaria.