AboutMesothelioma.Net

New cases of mesothelioma in Australia will continue increasing until around 2017, a new report predicts. The report by Safe Work Australia, which develops national policy on occupational health and safety issues, said the number of new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed annually in the nation down under has been rising dramatically since at least 1982, the first year of complete national data.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen closely linked to asbestos exposure. The number of new cases increased from 156 in 1982 to 597 in 2005, the report said.

The general demographic pattern revealed in the Australia study is similar to that in a new U.S. study, with four out of five mesothelioma deaths among men and mostly older men at that. Use of asbestos peaked in both the United States and Australia in the 1970s and has since been regulated and sharply reduced.

But because of the long lag time of 20 to 40 years from exposure to development of mesothelioma, the number of new cases will keep rising for some additional years, reflecting the legacy of extensive asbestos use in earlier decades, researchers say.

Researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the current issue of JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) report that the overall annual deaths from mesothelioma in the U.S. are still increasing, though the rate as a portion of the population has been stable in recent years. More than 18,000 deaths from mesothelioma were reported in the U.S from 1999 to 2005, researchers reported.

Although asbestos is no longer mined in the United States, it is still imported and a substantial amount of asbestos in buildings eventually must be removed. An estimated 1.3 million American construction workers and general industry workers are exposed to asbestos, researchers say, underscoring the need for efforts to minimize exposure.

Asbestos exposure in the Australian workplace is now regulated and minimized, so new cases of mesothelioma should eventually start going down. But the number of new cases is projected to increase through much of the next decade – longer than in the U.S. American researchers project deaths should peak here around 2010.

The Australian report provides national, state and territory data of the number and incidence rate of new cases and deaths from mesothelioma in Australia.

“It is exciting to be part of the important task of harmonizing occupational health and safety laws and … across Australia,” Tom Phillips, chairman of the Safe Work Australia Council said in a statement. The council agreed to specifications for maintenance of an Australian Mesothelioma Registry to be a comprehensive source of data on asbestos exposure.

The overall number of deaths in Australia generally increased over the period from 1997 to 2006, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. In 2006, there were 486 deaths attributed to mesothelioma. More than 80 percent of the deaths were men, and three-quarters were over age 65, very much like the profile of newly diagnosed cases.

Overall, the age-adjusted death rate in Australia due to mesothelioma was 23 deaths per million population. In comparison, the annual U.S. rate is 14 deaths per million.

Mesothelioma of the pleura, a cancer affecting the protective lining of the lung and chest cavity, was by far the most common form of mesothelioma diagnosed in Australia, involving 94 percent of the cases. Mesothelioma of the peritoneal, the abdominal lining, was reported in about 5 percent of cases.

Consumption of asbestos for manufacturing peaked in Australia in about 1975. Over 60 percent of all production and 90 percent of consumption of asbestos occurred in the asbestos cement manufacturing industry.
The most populous states, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, generally had the most new cases of mesothelioma from 2001 to 2005, the report said.

New South Wales, which has by far the most cases, was the first state in Australia to mine asbestos. Half the houses built in New South Wales from the end of World War II through 1954 were built of asbestos cement.

Similarly, in the U.S., the most populous states generally had the highest number of deaths. California, the largest state in population with an estimated 36 million people, led in mesothelioma-related deaths with 1,779 from 1999-2005.