Emerging Therapeutic Strategies for Dust Induced Lung Fibrosis: Redefining the Natural History of Pneumoconiosis

Workers exposed to fibrogenic dusts face significant risks of developing chronic and progressive lung diseases, collectively known as pneumoconioses. Historically, the main strategy for prevention has been to limit exposure through regulatory standards and workplace controls. Despite these protections, real-world conditions often result in cumulative, excessive exposures that cause irreversible lung fibrosis. Current treatment strategies largely focus on symptom relief, since no definitive therapy exists to halt or reverse dust-induced fibrosis. The disease’s course, usually considered inevitable and untreatable in Western medicine, contrasts with extensive Chinese research exploring potential pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. Recent studies have highlighted biological pathways implicated in fibrosis development, opening possibilities for targeted therapies, but global knowledge integration and clinical validation remain limited.This Research Topic aims to synthesize emerging evidence on therapeutic interventions for fibrogenic dust induced fibrosis and reexamine the notion that pneumoconiosis is a non treatable illness. It seeks to bring together multidisciplinary perspectives to identify safe and effective intervention points within disease mechanisms, evaluate translational studies from bench to bedside, and critically review past and current clinical trials. The overarching objective is to promote a renewed understanding of pneumoconiosis as a potentially modifiable disease process and to identify the most promising strategies, pharmacologic, biologic, and environmental, that could alter its natural history.To gather further insights into therapeutic and mechanistic aspects of pneumoconiosis, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Historical “epidemics” of pneumoconiosis providing context and justification for therapy development• Mechanistic pathways and biological targets where therapeutic intervention is plausible and safe• Human clinical trials and outcomes related to anti-fibrotic, biologic, or combination therapies• The evolving role of biologics and immunomodulatory compounds in dust-induced fibroproliferative disease• Epidemiologic frameworks to assess the population-level impact of emerging therapies in mining and industrial settings• Comparative analyses of global approaches, particularly between Western and Eastern medicine, in managing pneumoconiosis Topic editors: Daniel Banks, Surinder Jindal, Yuhao Zeng Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82035/emerging-therapeutic-strategies-for-dust-induced-lung-fibrosis-redefining-the-natural-history-of-pneumoconiosis