The use of asbestos in Japan and China and malignancy related findings.

Asbestos use in industrialized countries is generally being curtailed, with the exception of Japan which, even if it is not a major producer, is now the world's largest user, and this use is still increasing. On the contrary, China is one of the major producers at world levels. The author refers data from the literature dealing with epidemiological, and also experimental, studies performed in these two countries, which confirm that asbestos produces mesotheliomas in man and laboratory animals. The author underlines the possibility of demonstrating, through epidemiological studies, differences with respect to western countries, possibly related to different life styles and genetic and racial influences, and proposes some categories at risk, for either environmental or occupational reasons, which are particularly interesting for this type of study.