Jump to content
Content on WikiMesothelioma is reviewed by three named attorneys at Danziger & De Llano LLP prior to publication. See our editorial standards.

Pleural Plaques

From WikiMesothelioma — Mesothelioma Knowledge Base


Pleural Plaques
Benign, localized pleural thickening — the most common radiographic marker of asbestos exposure
ICD-10 Code J92.0[1]
Malignant? No — benign marker of exposure[2]
Latency Period 20-30 years (average)[2]
Prevalence (Insulation Workers) Up to 58%[2]
Best Imaging Test High-resolution CT[3]
Legal Significance Documented exposure evidence[4]

Executive Summary

Pleural plaques are localized areas of fibrous thickening on the parietal pleura — the membrane lining the chest wall — that develop in response to inhaled asbestos fibers.[2] They are the single most common radiographic finding among people with a history of asbestos exposure, appearing in as many as 58% of long-term insulation workers but in less than 1% of the general, unexposed population.[2] Plaques are benign: they are not cancer, they do not become cancer, and by themselves they typically do not impair breathing.[5][6] What they do provide is something courts, trust funds, and physicians all rely on — objective, imaging-confirmed proof that a person's lungs absorbed enough asbestos fiber, over enough time, to produce a measurable tissue response.

Pleural plaques typically appear 20 to 30 years after first asbestos exposure, and the single strongest predictor of whether and when they appear is time since first exposure, followed by cumulative dose.[7][8] Because that dose-and-time relationship has been documented across multiple large occupational cohorts, a radiologist or B-reader who identifies bilateral pleural plaques on a chest CT is documenting something with real diagnostic weight: a biological signature of asbestos inhalation that cannot be produced any other way.[5]

Plaques are also clinically important because of what they signal about a person's broader disease risk. Multiple cohort studies have found that people with pleural plaques carry a significantly elevated risk of developing pleural mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer compared with equally-exposed workers without plaques.[9][10][11] For that reason, a pleural plaque finding is never a stopping point in an asbestos case — it is a documented marker that the underlying exposure was real, substantial, and medically significant, and it routinely supports asbestos trust fund claims, VA disability claims, and personal injury litigation as objective corroborating evidence of exposure.[4]

At-a-Glance

Pleural plaques at a glance:

  • Benign, not malignant — pleural plaques are non-cancerous and do not themselves transform into mesothelioma or any other cancer[2]
  • Up to 58% prevalence in insulation workers — the highest documented rate among any asbestos-exposed occupational group[2]
  • <1% in the unexposed general population — plaques are rare outside a documented asbestos exposure history[2]
  • 20-30 year average latency — plaques typically become radiographically visible two to three decades after first exposure[2]
  • Time-since-first-exposure is the strongest predictor (p<0.0001) — a 5,545-subject HRCT screening study confirmed this as the single most powerful variable[7]
  • HRCT far outperforms chest X-ray — high-resolution CT reached a 100% positive predictive value for pleural disease versus 51-83% for radiography in a comparative study[3]
  • 6.8-fold adjusted mesothelioma risk — a French cohort found pleural plaques independently associated with pleural mesothelioma (adjusted HR 6.8, 95% CI 2.2-21.4)[9]
  • Bilateral distribution with occasional calcification — plaques appear on both sides of the chest in most confirmed cases, calcifying in roughly 10-15%[2]
  • Necropsy-confirmed marker — autopsy studies found plaques in 70.9% of men and 24.0% of women examined, with mesothelioma cases showing significantly higher plaque prevalence than controls[11]
  • Accepted evidentiary marker — imaging-confirmed pleural plaques are used across trust fund claims, VA disability filings, and personal injury litigation as documented proof of asbestos exposure[4]

Key Facts

Measure Finding (Source)
Disease classification Non-malignant pleural thickening (ICD-10 J92.0) — "pleural plaque with presence of asbestos"[1]
Prevalence — insulation workers Up to 58% — highest-documented occupational rate[2]
Prevalence — mixed occupational cohort 24.2% of 772 formerly-exposed workers on low-dose CT[12]
Prevalence — general population 0.5%-8% in developed countries, absent occupational exposure[2]
Latency period 20-30 years average from first exposure to radiographic detection[2]
Strongest predictor of onset Time since first exposure (p<0.0001), independent of cumulative dose[7]
Imaging accuracy (HRCT vs. chest X-ray) 100% vs. 51-83% positive predictive value for pleural disease[3]
Calcification rate 10-15% of documented plaques calcify over time[2]
Effect on lung function Generally minimal — isolated plaques were functionally irrelevant once diffuse pleural thickening was controlled for[6]
Pleural mesothelioma risk Adjusted HR 6.8 (95% CI 2.2-21.4) — 7-year French cohort follow-up[9]
Lung cancer mortality risk Adjusted HR 2.41 (95% CI 1.21-4.85) after adjusting for smoking and exposure[10]
Legal/evidentiary role Documented exposure marker accepted in trust fund and litigation contexts[4]

What Are Pleural Plaques?

Pleural plaques are discrete, well-circumscribed patches of fibrous (collagenous) thickening that form on the parietal pleura — the outer lining of the chest cavity — in response to inhaled asbestos fibers.[2] They most commonly develop along the posterolateral chest wall, the dome of the diaphragm, and the mediastinal pleura, and they are usually bilateral, appearing on both sides of the chest.[13] Unlike pleural mesothelioma, which is a malignant tumor that invades and destroys surrounding tissue, a pleural plaque is a static, benign scar. It does not grow uncontrollably, does not metastasize, and does not itself transform into a cancerous process.[2]

What makes pleural plaques medically important is not the tissue change itself but what it proves: that asbestos fibers reached the pleural surface in a quantity and over a duration sufficient to trigger a fibrotic response. Because virtually no other common exposure produces this specific radiographic pattern, physicians and radiologists treat bilateral pleural plaques as one of the most reliable available markers that a person has a genuine history of asbestos inhalation.[5] That is why pleural plaques are frequently the first objective medical finding that prompts a person with an occupational asbestos history to seek further evaluation — including screening for asbestosis and periodic monitoring for early signs of mesothelioma or lung cancer.[14]

How Common Are Pleural Plaques Among Asbestos-Exposed Workers?

Prevalence data on pleural plaques track exposure intensity closely. Insulation workers — among the most heavily asbestos-exposed tradespeople in U.S. industrial history — show plaque rates as high as 58% in documented cohorts, the highest of any occupational group studied.[2] A study of 772 formerly asbestos-exposed workers who underwent low-dose CT screening found pleural plaques in 24.2% of subjects, with peak exposure and time since first exposure identified as the strongest independent risk factors.[12] By contrast, the general population without occupational exposure shows plaque prevalence of only 0.5% to 8% in developed countries — and true background prevalence, absent any asbestos contact, is well under 1%.[2]

This exposure-response gradient is not a coincidence. A mathematical modeling study of shipyard workers found that plaque incidence could be described as a function of cumulative exposure time, with the specific rate of plaque development varying measurably between trades — plumbers, fitters, and platers each showed distinct exposure-response curves reflecting differences in their asbestos contact on the job.[15] That kind of trade-specific, dose-dependent pattern is exactly what would be expected if plaques are, as the epidemiological literature consistently finds, a direct biological consequence of asbestos fiber inhalation rather than a coincidental or unrelated finding.

How Long After Asbestos Exposure Do Pleural Plaques Develop?

Pleural plaques have a long latency period, typically becoming visible on imaging 20 to 30 years after a person's first significant asbestos exposure.[2] A large HRCT screening program covering 5,545 formerly asbestos-exposed workers in France confirmed that time since first exposure (TSFE) was the single strongest, most statistically significant predictor of plaque presence (p<0.0001), with cumulative exposure level operating as a secondary, independently significant factor.[7] A more recent re-analysis of a 5,392-subject cohort using non-linear statistical modeling confirmed the same pattern: plaque risk rises with cumulative asbestos exposure and with time since first exposure, while plaque odds decline the further removed a person is from their last exposure.[8]

This latency pattern has direct clinical and legal relevance. Because plaques take decades to appear, a plaque finding on a person diagnosed in their 60s or 70s frequently traces back to occupational exposure that occurred in the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s — a timeline consistent with the shipyards, power plants, refineries, and manufacturing facilities where asbestos use was heaviest before regulation.[14] That documented, decades-long lag between exposure and radiographic finding is part of why pleural plaques function as durable evidence: they do not fade or disappear once formed, and their timing corroborates a specific historical exposure window.

How Are Pleural Plaques Diagnosed?

Pleural plaques are diagnosed primarily through imaging, supported by a documented occupational or environmental asbestos exposure history.[5] Chest X-ray has historically been the first-line screening tool because it is inexpensive, widely available, and involves low radiation exposure, and refined morphology-based classification systems have improved its ability to flag suspected plaques for confirmation.[16] However, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is substantially more sensitive and specific. A comparative study of patients with occupational asbestos exposure found HRCT achieved a 100% positive predictive value for pleural disease, compared with only 51% for outside chest radiographs and 79% for radiographs read by experienced in-house radiologists.[3] HRCT is particularly valuable for distinguishing true plaques from mimics such as extrapleural fat, muscle shadows, and old rib-fracture thickening — a distinction that plain film alone frequently cannot make.[5]

Newer imaging techniques continue to close the gap between cost-effective screening and diagnostic precision. Digital tomosynthesis — a technique that reconstructs cross-sectional detail from a standard radiographic system — significantly outperformed conventional chest radiography for detecting asbestos-related pleuropulmonary disease in one comparative study, with far better sensitivity for asbestosis (82% versus 27%) and improved interobserver agreement for plaque detection.[17] Regardless of modality, diagnosis of pleural plaques is not made by imaging in isolation — it requires an occupational and exposure history sufficient to explain the finding, which is why a documented work history remains a central part of every pleural plaque evaluation.[5]

What Do Pleural Plaques Look Like on a Chest X-Ray or CT Scan?

On imaging, pleural plaques appear as discrete, well-circumscribed areas of pleural thickening, most often distributed bilaterally along the posterolateral and lateral chest wall between the sixth and tenth ribs, across the dome of the diaphragm, and along the mediastinal pleura.[13] Roughly 10% to 15% of documented plaques go on to calcify, producing a characteristic dense, plate-like appearance that is often the easiest form to identify on a standard chest X-ray.[2] CT imaging additionally reveals anterior and paravertebral plaques that are frequently missed entirely on plain radiography, giving CT a more complete picture of total plaque burden.[13] One CT-based study specifically examined whether plaques cluster on one side of the chest more than the other and found no meaningful left-right asymmetry, consistent with a bilateral, diffuse-fiber-exposure process rather than a localized injury.[2]

Radiologists distinguish true pleural plaques from several imaging mimics, including extrapleural fat pads, chest wall muscle shadows, and thickening from old rib fractures — all of which can superficially resemble plaques on a standard film but lack the plaques' characteristic distribution and CT density profile.[5] This is one of the primary reasons HRCT is preferred whenever a definitive reading is required for medical or legal purposes: it allows a radiologist to confirm both the presence and the true extent of pleural plaques with far greater confidence than a chest X-ray alone.[3]

Do Pleural Plaques Cause Symptoms or Affect Lung Function?

In the large majority of cases, pleural plaques are asymptomatic — they are identified incidentally on imaging performed for another reason, or found through occupational medical monitoring, rather than because a person reports symptoms directly attributable to the plaques themselves.[2] A functional imaging study that scored both diffuse pleural thickening and plaque extent found that, once the degree of diffuse pleural thickening was accounted for, isolated pleural plaque scores were "functionally irrelevant" to measured lung volumes such as forced vital capacity.[6] In other words, the reductions in lung function sometimes seen in asbestos-exposed patients are more strongly tied to diffuse pleural thickening and to underlying asbestosis than to plaques on their own.

That said, plaques are not entirely inert in every case. A minority of patients experience localized chest discomfort, and extensive plaque burden can occasionally contribute to modest restrictive changes.[2] The clinically important point is that pleural plaques being largely asymptomatic does not diminish their significance as a marker of exposure — it simply distinguishes them from asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening, both of which can produce clinically significant restrictive lung disease as they progress.[14]

Because pleural plaques and pleural mesothelioma share the same root cause — asbestos fiber deposition in the pleura — researchers have long studied whether the presence of plaques signals elevated mesothelioma risk. A seven-year follow-up study of 5,287 asbestos-exposed workers screened with CT found a statistically significant association between pleural plaques and subsequent pleural mesothelioma diagnosis, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 6.8 (95% CI 2.2-21.4) after accounting for time since first exposure and cumulative exposure index.[9] The study's authors concluded that pleural plaques may function as an independent risk indicator for pleural mesothelioma, distinct from — and in addition to — the exposure history alone.[9]

That finding is reinforced by earlier necropsy-based research. A study examining 3,005 autopsies found pleural plaques in 70.9% of men and 24.0% of women overall, and — critically — found that people who had died of malignant pleural mesothelioma showed a significantly higher prevalence of plaques, including more extensive plaques, than the remaining autopsy population.[11] The study's authors described this pattern as consistent with pleural plaques serving as a genuine risk indicator for pleural mesothelioma, not merely an incidental co-occurring finding.[11] It bears repeating that plaques themselves are not a precursor lesion and do not turn into mesothelioma; rather, both conditions arise from the same underlying asbestos burden, and a documented plaque finding indicates that burden was substantial enough to leave a lasting mark on the pleura.[2]

Do Pleural Plaques Increase the Risk of Lung Cancer or Other Cancers?

The literature on pleural plaques and lung cancer risk is more varied than the mesothelioma data, though it consistently keeps the causal spotlight on asbestos exposure itself. A six-year follow-up of 5,402 asbestos-exposed workers found pleural plaques independently associated with lung cancer mortality, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.41 (95% CI 1.21-4.85) after controlling for smoking status and cumulative asbestos exposure.[10] A subsequent extension of that same French cohort found lung cancer incidence and mortality significantly associated with plaques specifically among non-smokers (HR 3.13 for incidence, HR 16.83 for mortality), suggesting the plaque-associated signal may be easiest to detect once smoking's much larger independent effect is set aside.[18] A separate 13,481-subject French cohort additionally found a significant association between pleural plaques and esophageal cancer incidence (HR 2.80, 95% CI 1.09-7.20), consistent with a dose-response relationship already observed between cumulative asbestos exposure and esophageal cancer risk in the same cohort.[19]

Not every large cohort has replicated an independent plaque effect for lung cancer. A study of 4,240 subjects across two Australian cohorts — including crocidolite mine and mill workers — found that once cumulative asbestos exposure and radiographic asbestosis were accounted for, the presence of pleural plaques did not add further measurable lung cancer risk on its own.[20] Taken together, these studies point to the same underlying conclusion from different angles: it is the asbestos exposure itself — its dose, duration, and timing — that drives cancer risk, and pleural plaques are best understood as a visible, medically documented signature of that exposure having occurred, whether or not they add measurable risk beyond the exposure they reflect.[21]

How Do Pleural Plaques Differ From Asbestosis and Diffuse Pleural Thickening?

Pleural plaques, asbestosis, and diffuse pleural thickening are all non-malignant, asbestos-caused conditions, but they are distinct in tissue location, severity, and clinical impact.

Feature Pleural Plaques Asbestosis
Tissue affected Parietal pleura (localized patches) Lung parenchyma (diffuse scarring)
ICD-10 code J92.0 J61
Effect on lung function Generally minimal in isolation Progressive, often significant
Typical latency 20-30 years 10-30+ years
Progression Static once formed; may calcify Progressive fibrosis

Diffuse pleural thickening sits between the two: unlike plaques, it involves the visceral pleura (the lining directly on the lung surface, rather than the chest wall), and it can obliterate the costophrenic angle and produce clinically significant restrictive lung disease as it advances — a functional impact plaques on their own typically do not produce.[14] All three conditions share the same root cause, and it is common for a single asbestos-exposed individual to be diagnosed with more than one of them over time.[2]

Which Occupations Show the Highest Rates of Pleural Plaques?

Pleural plaque prevalence tracks closely with historical occupational asbestos exposure intensity. Insulation workers — who handled raw asbestos lagging and pipe covering for decades before modern controls — show the highest documented rates, at up to 58%.[2] Shipyard workers, boilermakers, and construction tradespeople who worked around asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and fireproofing materials also show substantially elevated plaque prevalence compared with the general population, consistent with the high-risk occupational groups identified across the broader asbestos-related disease literature.[14] Trade-specific exposure modeling in shipyard cohorts has further shown that plaque development rates vary measurably between specific job classifications — plumbers, fitters, and platers each showed distinct exposure-response curves — reflecting real differences in how directly each trade handled or worked near asbestos-containing materials.[15]

U.S. Navy veterans represent a particularly well-documented population, given the extensive use of asbestos insulation aboard ships from the 1930s through the 1970s.[14] For veterans and civilian tradespeople alike, a pleural plaque finding often becomes the first medical confirmation that a person's occupational history involved genuine, medically significant asbestos exposure — information that is directly relevant to both ongoing health monitoring and any later evaluation of legal or VA compensation options.[4]

Because pleural plaques develop through a well-documented, dose-and-time-dependent biological process tied specifically to asbestos inhalation, they carry real evidentiary weight in asbestos-related legal claims.[7][4] Unlike a self-reported work history alone, an imaging-confirmed pleural plaque finding is an objective medical fact — independently verifiable by any radiologist reviewing the same films — that corroborates a claimant's account of asbestos exposure.[5] That corroboration matters in asbestos trust fund claims, VA disability filings, and personal injury litigation alike, where medical documentation of exposure is often a required or heavily weighted element of the claim.[4]

Plaques are especially useful as evidence because their decades-long latency period ties a present-day imaging finding back to a specific historical exposure window — often the exact years a person worked in a shipyard, power plant, refinery, or manufacturing facility where asbestos use was heaviest.[14] Combined with occupational records, co-worker testimony, and product identification evidence, a documented pleural plaque finding can materially strengthen an asbestos exposure claim even before — or in the absence of — a mesothelioma or lung cancer diagnosis. People diagnosed with pleural plaques are encouraged to preserve their imaging records and occupational history and to consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation about their compensation options.[4]

Frequently Asked Questions

Are pleural plaques cancerous?

No. Pleural plaques are benign, non-cancerous areas of pleural thickening. They do not grow uncontrollably, do not spread to other tissue, and do not themselves transform into mesothelioma or any other cancer.[2]

Can pleural plaques turn into mesothelioma?

Pleural plaques do not turn into mesothelioma — they are not a precancerous lesion. However, both conditions result from the same underlying asbestos exposure, and cohort studies have found that people with documented pleural plaques carry a significantly elevated risk of later developing pleural mesothelioma compared with equally-exposed workers without plaques.[9][11]

Do pleural plaques always mean I was exposed to asbestos?

Bilateral pleural plaques are strongly associated with asbestos exposure and are rare in the general population — under 1% prevalence absent documented exposure, compared with prevalence as high as 58% in heavily-exposed occupational groups.[2] A diagnosis is typically confirmed by combining the imaging finding with a documented occupational or environmental exposure history.[5]

Do I need treatment for pleural plaques?

Pleural plaques themselves are usually asymptomatic and do not require direct treatment. Management instead focuses on monitoring for other asbestos-related conditions — including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma — through periodic imaging and clinical follow-up.[14]

Can pleural plaques be used as evidence in an asbestos lawsuit?

Yes. Because pleural plaques are an objective, imaging-confirmed marker of asbestos exposure with a well-documented dose-and-time relationship, they are commonly used to corroborate exposure history in asbestos trust fund claims, VA disability filings, and personal injury litigation.[4]

How are pleural plaques different from asbestosis?

Pleural plaques affect the outer lining of the chest wall (parietal pleura) and are generally static and largely asymptomatic. Asbestosis affects the lung tissue itself, is progressive, and can cause significant, worsening breathing difficulty over time. A person can have either condition, both, or neither, depending on their exposure history.[14]

Will pleural plaques show up on a regular chest X-ray?

Sometimes, but not reliably. Chest X-ray remains a common first-line screening tool, but high-resolution CT is significantly more sensitive and specific — in one comparative study, HRCT reached a 100% positive predictive value for pleural disease compared with 51-83% for chest radiography.[3] CT is generally recommended to confirm a suspected plaque finding.[5]

Quick Statistics

Statistic Value
Prevalence — insulation workers Up to 58%[2]
Prevalence — mixed occupational cohort (n=772) 24.2%[12]
Prevalence — general population 0.5%-8%[2]
Average latency period 20-30 years[2]
Calcification rate 10-15%[2]
HRCT positive predictive value 100% (vs. 51-83% for X-ray)[3]
Adjusted pleural mesothelioma risk (HR) 6.8 (95% CI 2.2-21.4)[9]
Adjusted lung cancer mortality risk (HR) 2.41 (95% CI 1.21-4.85)[10]
Necropsy prevalence (men / women) 70.9% / 24.0%[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ICD10Data.com. 2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code J92.0: Pleural Plaque with Presence of Asbestos.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Asbestos Toxicity: What Respiratory Conditions Are Associated with Asbestos?. Environmental Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Friedman AC, Fiel SB, Fisher MS, Radecki PD, Lev-Toaff AS, Caroline DF. Asbestos-related pleural disease and asbestosis: a comparison of CT and chest radiography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1988;150(2):269-75. PMID 3257311. PubMed
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Danziger & De Llano. Asbestos Exposure. Danziger & De Llano, LLP.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Asbestos Toxicity: Clinical Assessment - Tests. Environmental Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Copley SJ, Wells AU, Rubens MB, Chabat F, Sheehan RE, Musk AW, et al. Functional consequences of pleural disease evaluated with chest radiography and CT. Radiology. 2001;220(1):237-43. PMID 11426004. PubMed
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Paris C, Thierry S, Brochard P, Letourneux M, Schorle E, Stoufflet A, et al. Pleural plaques and asbestosis: dose- and time-response relationships based on HRCT data. Eur Respir J. 2009;34(1):72-9. PMID 19129281. PubMed
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Menant M, Benlala I, Thaon I, Andujar P, Julia B, Brochard P, et al. Relationships between asbestos exposure and pleural plaques: dose and time effects using fractional polynomials. Occup Environ Med. 2024;81(6):313-319. PMID 38925963. PubMed
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Pairon JC, Laurent F, Rinaldo M, Clin B, Andujar P, Ameille J, et al. Pleural plaques and the risk of pleural mesothelioma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013;105(4):293-301. PMID 23355760. PubMed
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Pairon JC, Andujar P, Rinaldo M, Ameille J, Brochard P, Chamming's S, et al. Asbestos exposure, pleural plaques, and the risk of death from lung cancer. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014;190(12):1413-20. PMID 25383951. PubMed
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Bianchi C, Brollo A, Ramani L, Zuch C. Pleural plaques as risk indicators for malignant pleural mesothelioma: a necropsy-based study. Am J Ind Med. 1997;32(5):445-9. PMID 9327067. PubMed
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Mastrangelo G, Ballarin MN, Bellini E, Bicciato F, Zannol F, Gioffrè F, et al. Asbestos exposure and benign asbestos diseases in 772 formerly exposed workers: dose-response relationships. Am J Ind Med. 2009;52(8):596-602. PMID 19533676. PubMed
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Roach HD, Davies GJ, Attanoos R, Crane M, Adams H, Phillips S. Asbestos: when the dust settles an imaging review of asbestos-related disease. Radiographics. 2002;22 Spec No:S167-84. PMID 12376609. PubMed
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 O'Reilly KM, Mclaughlin AM, Beckett WS, Sime PJ. Asbestos-related lung disease. Am Fam Physician. 2007;75(5):683-8. PMID 17375514. PubMed
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Järvholm B. Pleural plaques and exposure to asbestos: a mathematical model. Int J Epidemiol. 1992;21(6):1180-4. PMID 1483825. PubMed
  16. ↑ Elshazley M, Shibata E, Hisanaga N, Ichihara G, Ewis AA, Kamijima M, et al. Pleural plaque profiles on the chest radiographs and CT scans of asbestos-exposed Japanese construction workers. Ind Health. 2011;49(5):626-33. PMID 21828957. PubMed
  17. ↑ Lee G, Jeong YJ, Kim KI, Song JW, Kang DM, Kim YD, et al. Comparison of chest digital tomosynthesis and chest radiography for detection of asbestos-related pleuropulmonary disease. Clin Radiol. 2013;68(4):376-82. PMID 23177084. PubMed
  18. ↑ Gallet J, Laurent F, Paris C, Clin B, Gislard A, Thaon I, et al. Pleural plaques and risk of lung cancer in workers formerly occupationally exposed to asbestos: extension of follow-up. Occup Environ Med. 2022. PMID 35922129. doi:10.1136/oemed-2022-108337. PubMed
  19. ↑ Clin B, Gramond C, Delva F, Andujar P, Thaon I, Brochard P, et al. Asbestos exposure, pleural plaques and digestive cancers. BMC Public Health. 2025;25(1):686. PMID 39972315. PubMed
  20. ↑ Brims FJH, Kong K, Harris EJA, Sodhi-Berry N, Reid A, Murray CP, et al. Pleural Plaques and the Risk of Lung Cancer in Asbestos-exposed Subjects. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;201(1):57-62. PMID 31433952. PubMed
  21. ↑ Musk AW, de Klerk N, Reid A, Hui J, Franklin P, Brims F. Asbestos-related diseases. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2020;24(6):562-567. PMID 32553000. PubMed
Retrieved from "https://wikimesothelioma.com/w/index.php?title=Pleural_Plaques&oldid=4096"