| | | |

Risk of Dying from Mesothelioma Varies by Type, Study Shows

ByAlex Strauss

Risk of dying from mesotheliomaThe risk of dying from mesothelioma rises and gradually falls  in the decades after exposure for most, but not all, types of asbestos cancer. New research shows those peaks and valleys can vary based on a number of factors.

Public health researchers from across Italy recently published their findings on asbestos workers’ risk of dying from mesothelioma.

They suggest that the lifetime risk of dying from peritoneal mesothelioma stays high, even after the risk of death from pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer begins to drop off.

Quantifying the Risk of Dying from Mesothelioma

Asbestos is the primary cause of all three types of mesothelioma: pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common asbestos-related cancer. Pleural tumors start on the lining around the lungs.

About a fifth of the 2,500 annual cases of mesothelioma in the US are peritoneal mesothelioma. These tumors grow on the lining of the abdomen. Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest type. These tumors start on the lining around the heart.

Although mesothelioma mortality is low in people who have never been exposed to asbestos, the risk of dying from mesothelioma is much higher among asbestos-exposed people. Asbestos-exposed people also face a higher risk of death from lung cancer.

Differing Timelines for Mesothelioma Mortality

The new study focuses on the risk of dying from mesothelioma among asbestos cement workers in Bari, Italy.

Some of these workers died of mesothelioma and others died of lung cancer. When researchers compared all the deaths from asbestos-related cancers, they found important differences.

The risk of dying from mesothelioma varied by type, cumulative exposure, and time since last exposure.

Researchers first looked at cancer deaths based on cumulative asbestos exposure. They saw a rise and then a decrease in the number of deaths among people with lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma.

But deaths did not taper off among patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. Instead, the numbers just kept rising with higher asbestos exposure levels.

Then researchers separated the cancer deaths by how long it had been since each patient’s last asbestos exposure. In these groups, the risk of dying from pleural mesothelioma peaked between 20 and 29 years after exposure and then declined.

But the risk of dying from mesothelioma of the peritoneum plateaued at 20 years and stayed the same. It did not decrease over time. The risk of dying from lung cancer also remained high in each group.

Source:

Cuccaro, F, et al, “Mortality for Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer in a Cohort of Asbestos Cement Workers in BARI (Italy): Time Related Aspects of Exposure”, March 6, 2019, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epub ahead of print, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30870398

 

Similar Posts

Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland
|

Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland

ByAlex Strauss

A study in Ireland confirms that it can take many years for a ban on asbestos to have a measurable impact on a country’s rates of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most serious of a list of diseases – including lung cancer, pleural plaques, asbestosis, and others – linked with exposure to asbestos dust. Affecting the linings around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is often resistant to most cancer treatments and may be fatal within a year of diagnosis. According to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Ireland is one of 55 countries that have enacted some type of asbestos ban. However, although Ireland banned asbestos in 2000, a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology shows that incidence of the…

Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma
|

Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools
|

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

ByAlex Strauss

A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia
| | |

Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia

ByAlex Strauss

Australia is bracing for an expected new wave of mesothelioma cases in the next decade and the Lung Foundation of Australia is taking action now to get ready. The Foundation has paid for ten nurses from around the country to receive specialized training in helping patients and families cope with mesothelioma. The nurses, who have recently completed the training, are now equipped to lead treatment planning for these complex cancer patients and to help other nurses do the same. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in the lining around the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, a toxin that was once alarmingly prevalent in Australia where it was mined and heavily used in construction. Because…

Spanish Mesothelioma Deaths Likely to Continue for Decades
| |

Spanish Mesothelioma Deaths Likely to Continue for Decades

ByAlex Strauss

New research in Spain suggests that mesothelioma deaths will continue in the country until the “last surviving member” of the group of people exposed to occupational asbestos succumbs to the disease. Like many countries, Spain used asbestos heavily in the first half of the 20th century, especially in construction, where the mineral was prized for its durability, low cost, and resistance to fire and corrosion.  Asbestos was banned in Spain in 2002. Observing that more than 2.5 million metric tons of asbestos were imported into Spain from 1906 to 2002, researchers say deaths from mesothelioma have risen steadily. Between 1976 and 1980, a total of 491 Spanish people died of mesothelioma. By the 5-year period from 2006 to 2010, that…

Study Confirms Firefighters at Elevated Risk for Mesothelioma
|

Study Confirms Firefighters at Elevated Risk for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A 5-year National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study of U.S. firefighters is the first to confirm what has long been suspected: Firefighters are definitely at higher risk for malignant mesothelioma. The study examined the mortality patterns and cancer incidence (including mesothelioma) among 30,000 firefighters in three major cities. The study subjects were all career firefighters who started their careers after 1950 and were followed through 2009. In order to get a diverse sample of firefighters from across the country, the study focused on firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. Comparing firefighters to a sampling of the general public, the study looked at 92 causes of death and 41 cancer incidence groupings, with a focus on 15…