The incidence of mesothelioma has not decreased for the last twenty years in Southeast region of Anatolia

Our plain-English summary of The incidence of mesothelioma has not decreased for the last twenty years in Southeast region of Anatolia, by A.I. Carkanat, A. Abdurrahman, O. Abakay, et al (African Health Sciences, 2011).

The study

• Authors: A.I. Carkanat, A. Abdurrahman, O. Abakay, S. Cengizhan, S.H. Selimoglu, A. Senyigit
• Journal: African Health Sciences
• Published: 2011;11(3):346-52
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

Abstract

Background: Malignant pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is a very rarely encountered tumor in the normal population.

Objectives: To investigate the variations in incidence of MPM in Southeast region of Turkey.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the data of 161 MPM patients who were diagnosed from January 2000 to December 2009. The residential areas were determined according to asbestos exposure which plays a role in MPM etiology; previously reported as having asbestos (Region 1) and asbestos has not been determined previously (Region 2).

Results: One hundred nine (109) of the patients (67.7%) included from the Region 1 and 52 of them (32.3%) included from the Region 2. MPM incidence of the last decade was 3.9/100,000 person/year for the whole region. In Region 1, 2000-2004 incidences was 12.6/100,000 person/year and 2005-2009 incidences was 14.9/100,000 person/year. In Region 2, 2000-2004 incidences was 0.4/100,000 person/year and 2005-2009 incidences was 1.0/100,000 person/year. According to the recently conducted incidence studies in our region, MPM incidence increased in region 1 and decreased in region 2. The number of patients applying to our hospital has increased in the last three years.

Conclusion: This increase, in Region 1 may be associated with continuous use of asbestos.

In plain English

This retrospective chart review covered 161 patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma at Dicle University Hospital in Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey, from January 2000 to December 2009. Patients were grouped by hometown: Region 1 where asbestos exposure had previously been reported, Region 2 where it had not. Region 1 supplied 109 patients and Region 2 supplied 52. In all, 127 patients (78.9%) had asbestos exposure, all of it environmental; no fiber type was named. Overall incidence for the decade was 3.9 per 100,000 person-years. In Region 1 it was 12.6 per 100,000 person-years in 2000-2004 and 14.9 in 2005-2009; in Region 2 it was 0.4 and 1.0. Only descriptive statistics were reported. Comparing with earlier regional studies, the authors saw no considerable overall change but a rise in Region 1, and wrote that efforts to prevent asbestos use were far from desired levels. They concluded that the Region 1 increase may be associated with continuous use of asbestos.

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: Retrospective review of hospital patient charts, with incidence rates calculated for two five-year periods using census population figures. Statistics were descriptive only (percentages, averages, incidences).
• Who was studied: 161 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosed at Dicle University Hospital, Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey, January 2000 to December 2009. There were 97 men and 64 women, and the mean age was 55.1 years. Patients were grouped as Region 1 (Ergani, Cermik, Cungus, Maden, Siverek, where asbestos exposure was reported previously) or Region 2 (other areas with no previously reported exposure).
• Exposure: Environmental asbestos exposure recorded from patient charts. 127 of 161 patients had exposure, all environmental, with an average duration of 30.8 years. No fiber type was named for this study's patients. The discussion describes local use of asbestos-soil as plaster and whitewash.
• Main results:
  • 109 patients (67.7%) were from Region 1 and 52 (32.3%) were from Region 2.
  • Overall incidence for the whole region over the decade was 3.9 per 100,000 person-years.
  • Region 1 (areas with previously reported asbestos exposure): 12.6 per 100,000 person-years in 2000-2004 and 14.9 per 100,000 person-years in 2005-2009.
  • Region 2 (areas with no previously reported exposure): 0.4 per 100,000 person-years in 2000-2004 and 1.0 per 100,000 person-years in 2005-2009.
  • The number of patients diagnosed each year was higher in 2007 (19), 2008 (28) and 2009 (20) than in earlier years, which ranged from 10 to 15.
  • Compared with earlier studies in the region (overall rates of 5 and 4.3 per 100,000 person-years), the authors found no considerable change in overall incidence.
  • In Dicle district of Diyarbakir, which was counted in Region 2, incidence was ten times the 1990-1994 rate from an earlier study.
  • Of the 155 patients whose tumour type was determined, 119 were epithelial, 20 were mixed type and 16 were sarcomatous.
  • The male to female ratio among patients was 1.54 to 1.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the increase in Region 1 may be associated with continuous use of asbestos. They wrote that incidence rising in asbestos-using areas over two decades showed that efforts to prevent asbestos use were far from desired levels.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Pleural Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Etiology.

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