Beyond mesothelioma and lung cancer, two more cancers are recognized as caused by asbestos: cancer of the larynx (the voice box) and cancer of the ovary. The National Cancer Institute’s asbestos fact sheet states that some studies have also suggested a link to other cancers, but for laryngeal and ovarian cancer the fact sheet reports that the evidence supports a causal association, reflecting the conclusions of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
This page keeps its claims tight to what those sources say. It is informational only, not medical advice; diagnosis and treatment belong with your care team.
What did IARC actually conclude?
IARC, the cancer research agency of the World Health Organization, reviewed the asbestos evidence in its Monograph Volume 100C on arsenic, metals, fibres and dusts (IARC Monographs Vol. 100C). Its working group concluded that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) and that asbestos causes mesothelioma and cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovary. The NCI fact sheet reports the same set of asbestos-caused cancers.
That is the ceiling of what these pages will claim. IARC also noted suggested but not established links to some other cancers, including cancers of the pharynx, stomach, and colorectum. Suggested is not established, and this site will not present it as more than it is.
Laryngeal cancer and asbestos
The larynx sits directly in the path of inhaled air, so fibers pass through it on the way to the lungs. Both IARC and the NCI identify laryngeal cancer as caused by asbestos exposure. As with lung cancer, other causes of laryngeal cancer are well established, notably tobacco and alcohol use, which the American Cancer Society lists as the major risk factors for this cancer. A claim therefore has to establish the asbestos contribution on the evidence, not by assumption. A documented history of heavy occupational asbestos exposure is the starting point.
Ovarian cancer and asbestos
IARC concluded that asbestos causes cancer of the ovary, and the NCI fact sheet reports that association as well. This matters for a group of claimants who are often overlooked: women exposed to asbestos, whether at work or at home from fibers carried in on a family member’s work clothes. The NCI fact sheet documents that household members of asbestos workers were exposed through contaminated clothing, and that route is the fact pattern behind many claims involving women. Our asbestos exposure guide covers household and secondary exposure in more detail.
One point of caution. Ovarian cancer and peritoneal mesothelioma can be difficult to distinguish, and misdiagnosis in both directions is documented in the medical literature. If ovarian cancer was diagnosed in someone with an asbestos history, it is worth asking whether the pathology has been reviewed with mesothelioma in mind; our peritoneal mesothelioma page explains that disease.
Who was exposed, and where?
The exposure histories behind these cancers are the ordinary ones. Occupational exposure ran through shipyards, steel mills, refineries, rail shops, power plants, chemical plants, and the building trades, all of which Pennsylvania had in quantity, and the NCI identifies those industries among the highest-exposure settings before the late 1970s. Household exposure ran through the laundry: a spouse or child shook out and washed work clothes coated in fiber, week after week, for years.
The timeline is long in every case. The NCI puts the typical delay between asbestos exposure and disease at 20 to 50 years, so a diagnosis today points back to work or a household in the 1960s, 1970s, or early 1980s. Old exposure is not weak evidence. It is normal evidence in these cases, and it is reconstructed from employment records, union records, product records, and testimony rather than from memory alone.
Are these cancers compensable in Pennsylvania?
They can be, and the analysis is the same one that applies to asbestos lung cancer: a qualifying diagnosis, a documented exposure history, and a medical causation opinion linking the asbestos exposure to this cancer. These are harder cases than mesothelioma cases, because these cancers have other common causes, and because asbestos bankruptcy trust funds, which hold roughly $30 billion set aside for asbestos victims per the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO-11-819), publish their own criteria by disease and do not all treat these cancers the same way. No honest lawyer will tell you the outcome in advance. What is fair to say is that IARC and NCI recognize the causal link, which means a claim built on real exposure evidence is a legitimate claim, not a long shot dressed up as one.
What this means for your family
If laryngeal or ovarian cancer has been diagnosed in someone who worked around asbestos, or who lived with someone who did, the exposure history deserves a serious look rather than a shrug. Pennsylvania generally allows two years from discovery of the disease to file (42 Pa. C.S. § 5524), and wrongful death and survival actions are available to families if the person has passed away (42 Pa. C.S. §§ 8301-8302). The full picture of asbestos diseases, malignant and non-malignant, is on our asbestos diseases hub.
Request a free case review and get an honest read on whether the evidence in your family’s situation supports a claim.