Canadian cancer statistics at a glance: mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Canadian cancer statistics at a glance: mesothelioma, by L.D. Marrett, L.F. Ellison, D. Dryer (CMAJ, 2008).

The study

• Authors: L.D. Marrett, L.F. Ellison, D. Dryer
• Journal: CMAJ
• Published: 2008;178(6):677-8
• Cited by: 16 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Summary of the article

This short statistics feature, part of the Canadian Cancer Statistics at a Glance series, summarized the burden of mesothelioma in Canada and its link with asbestos. Using data from the National Cancer Incidence Reporting System (1984–1991) and the Canadian Cancer Registry (1992–2003), the authors reported that the number of Canadian men diagnosed with mesothelioma each year rose steadily from 153 in 1984 to 344 in 2003. Over the same period the annual incidence rate rose from 1.4 to 2.1 per 100 000. They noted that these numbers were likely underestimated because of diagnostic, coding and registration challenges. In 2003, 78 women were diagnosed, 18% of all new cases. The authors stated that more than 80% of men with mesothelioma were likely exposed to asbestos at work, and that current cases largely reflected exposure in the 1950s to 1970s. Because construction workers could still be exposed during maintenance, renovation and demolition, it was unclear when cases would begin to decline. They also noted about 2 asbestos-related lung cancers for every mesothelioma, and that Canada continued to export asbestos. Only about one-third of people diagnosed with mesothelioma received workers' compensation, probably because most did not file a claim. The authors recommended that physicians take a workplace-exposure history from all patients with mesothelioma or lung cancer, encourage exposed patients to investigate compensation, and counsel exposed workers to stop smoking.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This two-page 'facts and figures' article, written for the National Cancer Institute of Canada's steering committee for Canadian Cancer Statistics, summarized Canadian cancer registry figures on mesothelioma. It counted all cancers specified as mesothelioma or with a primary site of the pleura. It was not a research study and had no methods section. Using national registry data, it reported that the number of Canadian men diagnosed with mesothelioma each year rose from 153 cases in 1984 to 344 cases in 2003. Over the same period the annual incidence rate rose from 1.4 to 2.1 per 100 000. In 2003, 78 women in Canada were diagnosed, 18% of all new cases that year. Cases occurred throughout the country, not only in certain provinces. The authors wrote that case numbers are likely underestimated because of diagnostic, coding and registration difficulties. Citing other reports, they described asbestos as the most common cause of mesothelioma and wrote that only about one-third of people diagnosed receive workers' compensation. The authors concluded that it is not clear when the annual number of cases will begin to decline.

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: Brief descriptive statistics summary ('Facts and figures') presenting national cancer registry counts with commentary; not an original study with stated methods
• Who was studied: New mesothelioma cases in Canada recorded by the National Cancer Incidence Reporting System (1984–1991) and the Canadian Cancer Registry (1992–2003). The trend figures cover men from 1984 to 2003, and there is a 2003 count for women. Mesothelioma was defined as all cancers specified as mesothelioma or with a primary site of the pleura.
• Exposure: Asbestos in general (no fiber types named), mainly workplace exposure in mining and milling, manufacturing and construction in Canada. The article discusses exposure but does not measure it.
• Main results:
  • The number of Canadian men diagnosed with mesothelioma each year rose from 153 cases in 1984 to 344 cases in 2003
  • The annual incidence rate (reported in the passage on men) rose from 1.4 to 2.1 per 100 000
  • Women in Canada had 78 mesothelioma diagnoses in 2003, 18% of all new mesothelioma cases that year
  • Cases occurred throughout Canada rather than in specific provinces
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, because construction workers may still be exposed during maintenance, renovation and demolition of buildings containing asbestos, it is not clear when the annual number of mesothelioma cases will begin to decline
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The number of mesothelioma cases is likely underestimated because of diagnostic, coding and registration challenges specific to mesothelioma

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Cancer Registry, Incidence, Lung Cancer, Exposure History.

Related studies

• Mortality and cancer morbidity in a cohort of Canadian petroleum workers — R.J. Lewis, A.R. Schnatter, et al. (2003)
• Patterns in the incidence, mortality and survival of malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, New South Wales, 1972-2009 — M.J. Soeberg, N. Creighton, et al. (2016)
• Disease mapping of zero-excessive mesothelioma data in Flanders — T. Neyens, A.B. Lawson, et al. (2017)
• Analysis of survival of mesothelioma cases in the Italian register (ReNaM) — A. Marinaccio, M. Nesti, et al. (2003)
• Residential proximity to naturally occurring asbestos and mesothelioma risk in California — X.L. Pan, H.W. Day, et al. (2005)
• Incidence of mesothelioma in Lombardy, Italy: exposure to asbestos, time patterns and future projections — C. Mensi, S. De Matteis, et al. (2016)

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