Pleural mesothelioma in a circus worker

Objectives: To describe an unusual occupational asbestos exposure in a patient with mesothelioma.

Methods: Since 2000, the Lombardy Mesothelioma Registry (LMR) collects cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) occurring among people residing in the Lombardy Region, North-West Italy, with a population of 10 million inhabitants. For each case, clinical records and asbestos exposure are collected. Each case is then classified in agreement with the guidelines of the National Mesothelioma Registry.

Results: We identified a male (86 years old), former smoker, who had been working for 53 years as a circus truck driver and tamer of lions and tigers. The first circumstance of exposure was the use of an asbestos tape that wrapped around the hoop in the feline jumping show with a flaming hoop. The second one was the presence of insulating panels protecting the engine placed inside the trucks.

Conclusion: A new MM case with an occupational etiology has been found in the public entertainment, an occupational sector not usually considered at risk for the presence of asbestos.