A decade of malignant mesothelioma surveillance in Korea

Our plain-English summary of A decade of malignant mesothelioma surveillance in Korea, by S.H. Jung, H.R. Kim, S.B. Koh, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2012).

The study

• Authors: S.H. Jung, H.R. Kim, S.B. Koh, S.J. Yong, M.J. Chung, C.H. Lee, J. Han, M.S. Eom, S.S. Oh
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2012;55(10):869-75
• Cited by: 30 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: The objectives of this study were to examine trends in mesothelioma incidence over a decade and to identify histories of asbestos exposure among cases in Korea.

Methods: In 2001, The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency organized a nationwide cardiopulmonary pathology group and established a malignant mesothelioma surveillance system covering all general hospitals in Korea. Mesothelioma cases were reported to this surveillance system with information about age, gender, location, occupational history, asbestos exposure environment, date of diagnosis, diagnostic method, histopathologic subtype, occurrence site, and other clinical information. Additionally, an epidemiological survey was conducted using a structured verbal questionnaire to allow further evaluation of asbestos exposures.

Results: A total of 399 cases of malignant mesothelioma were reported in the last decade, translating to approximately 40 annual cases, and an annual average incidence rate of 0.83 cases per million. Of the 152 patients interviewed by occupational physicians, 56 had occupational asbestos exposure histories (36.8%). Their occupations and industries included construction (19.7%), automobile repair (5.9%), asbestos textile, shipbuilding and repair, refinery work, boiler making, and asbestos cement work. Another 31 patients had environmental asbestos exposure histories.

Conclusions: Surveillance data indicate that malignant mesothelioma incidence in Korea is, thus far, lower than that of other developed countries, and that construction and environmental asbestos exposure were the main identifiable causes of malignant mesothelioma.

Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In plain English

This study described the first ten years (2001 to 2010) of a national system in Korea in which pathologists reported pathologically confirmed cases of malignant mesothelioma. Occupational physicians then tried to interview patients by phone with a structured questionnaire about work, family and residential asbestos exposure. The system recorded 399 cases, an average of 40 a year. That gave an average incidence rate of 0.83 cases per million people. Incidence rose gradually from 2001 to 2008, when it peaked at 1.25 per million, then declined in 2009 and 2010. Of the 399 cases, 264 (66.2%) were male and 135 (33.8%) female. 267 (66.9%) were in the pleura and 108 (27.1%) in the peritoneum. Only 152 patients were interviewed. Of these, 56 (36.8%) had occupational asbestos exposure, 31 had environmental exposure, and for 65 no exposure history could be determined. Construction was the most common single occupation, accounting for 30 of the 152 interviewed cases. The authors concluded that Korea's rate was relatively low compared with other countries. They noted that some cases may have been missed and that few patients were interviewed.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: national mesothelioma surveillance (pathologist reporting system) with follow-up structured telephone interviews of cases
• Who was studied: 399 malignant mesothelioma cases reported from general and university hospitals across Korea, 2001 to 2010; 152 of them were interviewed
• Exposure: occupational, take-home, residential and other environmental asbestos exposure, assessed by structured questionnaire; fiber types for the cases were not reported
• Main results:
  • Average incidence rate over the decade was 0.83 per million; the highest was 1.25 per million in 2008
  • Incidence rose from 2001 to 2008 and declined in 2009 and 2010
  • Of the 399 cases, 264 (66.2%) were male and 135 (33.8%) female
  • Site among the 399 cases: pleura 267 (66.9%), peritoneum 108 (27.1%), pericardium 11 (2.8%)
  • Among the 152 interviewed, 56 had occupational and 31 had environmental asbestos exposure
  • Exposure history could not be determined for 65 of the 152 interviewed cases
  • Construction was the most common single occupation, with 30 of the 152 interviewed cases
  • For the 30 construction cases, the median latent period was 30 years and the median age at first exposure was about 28
  • Among the 31 patients with environmental exposure, the sex ratio was 16 women to 15 men
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that Korea's incidence rate was relatively low compared with other countries, and that construction was the single most frequent occupation related to malignant mesothelioma
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Surveillance results are subject to selection bias because they come from a voluntary reporting system, and cases may be underestimated
  • Only 152 of the 399 cases were interviewed because most patients were severely ill, so the proportion with asbestos exposure cannot be generalized to all cases
  • Patient reports may be affected by information bias because of greater awareness of mesothelioma risk in industries such as construction
  • The surveillance data could not be compared with other national mesothelioma data over the whole study period

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Pathology, Occupational History, Incidence, Asbestos-Cement.

Related studies

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• Exploring the usefulness of occupational exposure registries for surveillance: the case of the Ontario Asbestos Workers Registry (1986-2012) — A.J. Koné Pefoyo, L. Genesove, et al. (2014)
• Occupational lung cancer surveillance in South Korea, 2006-2009 — J.H. Leem, H.C. Kim, et al. (2010)
• Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program 1990-1999: demographic features and trends in abnormal radiographic findings — D.M. Dell, B.K. Bohnker, et al. (2006)
• Programmed health surveillance and detection of emerging diseases in occupational health: contribution of the French national occupational disease surveillance and prevention network (RNV3P) — V. Bonneterre, L. Faisandier, et al. (2010)
• Surveillance of respiratory diseases among construction and trade workers at Department of Energy nuclear sites — J.M. Dement, L. Welch, et al. (2003)

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