Malignant mesothelioma in Australia, 1945–2000*

Abstract

Australia's high incidence of mesothelioma is related to high past asbestos use, of all fiber types, in a wide variety of occupational and environmental settings. The number of cases in total is expected to be about 18,000 by 2020, with about 11,000 yet to appear.

The trajectory of lung cancer patients in Western Australia—A data linkage study: Still a grim tale

“…Our data are therefore consistent with the observation that Aus- tralia has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world [15]. Australia's high incidence of mesothelioma is reported to be related to high past asbestos use, of all fibre types, in a wide variety of occupational and environmental settings [16]. Otherwise most cases of non-small cell lung cancer presented at stage IV or IIIB.…”

Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Pleural Diseases

“…That is the reason why the incidence of MPM shows marked differences between countries [68]. The highest incidence rates were reported in, or estimated for, Australia [69], Belgium [68] and Great Britain [70], with approximately 30 cases per million yearly. The occurrence of MPM parallels the exploitation and use of asbestos, with a mean latency period of 40 years or more [71,72,73].…”

Mesothelin-related predictive and prognostic factors in malignant mesothelioma: A nested case–control study

“…The incidence of the disease is however still increasing in most countries of the world, only in countries in which asbestos control measures were taken during the 1970s, such as Sweden and United Kingdom has this increase levelled off [5]. Age standardised rates for MM in men in Norway are 1.7 per 100 000 [6] and in Australia are 6 per 100 000 [7]. In addition to asbestos, environmental exposure of other asbestos-like minerals [8,9], deposition of alpha-particle emitting agents, such as thorotrast and ionizing radiation are also established causes [1], although less important at population level.…”