Increased but low incidence and poor survival of malignant mesothelioma inthe southeastern part of The Netherlands since 1970: a population-based study
Mlg. Janssen-heijnen et al., Increased but low incidence and poor survival of malignant mesothelioma inthe southeastern part of The Netherlands since 1970: a population-based study, EUR J CAN P, 8(4), 1999, pp. 311-314
Changes in the incidence and survival rates for malignant mesothelioma in t
he southeastern part of The Netherlands since 1970 were investigated, using
data from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry (ECR). The exposure to asbestos in
this area is presumed to be limited. Most of the mesotheliomas occurred in
the pleura, where there were 119 (88%) against 15 (11%) in the peritoneum
and two in the tunica vaginalis testis. Compared to other European countrie
s, the incidence rate for the southeastern part of The Netherlands was fair
ly low in the second half of the 1980s. Between 1975 and 1991 the age-adjus
ted incidence rates (ESR) for pleural mesothelioma increased twofold (from
10 to 19 per one million person-years among men and from 2.4 to 3.8 among w
omen). The rate for peritoneal mesothelioma remained constant. The overall
relative 0.5-, 1-, and 3-year survival rates remained 68, 42, and 8%, respe
ctively. The fourfold higher incidence rate for men compared with women ref
lects the fact that mesothelioma is mainly an occupational disease. In view
of presumed limited exposure to asbestos and small geographical variation,
the incidence of mesothelioma in the southeastern part of The Netherlands
will probably remain low, despite an increase in the past decades. (C) 1999
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.