The global rate of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is probably much higher than was previously thought.
A new study published in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) environmental health sciences journal, Environmental Health Perspectives,
estimates that for every four or five cases of mesothelioma worldwide,
there is at least one more case that goes unreported.
Malignant mesothelioma
is an aggressive form of cancer that usually develops 20 to 50 years
after exposure to asbestos, a mineral used for many years in a wide
variety of products and applications. The popularity of asbestos
declined after it was associated with mesothelioma and other serious
health problems in the 1980’s, but there is still no asbestos ban in the
USA. In addition, because it is cheap and plentiful, asbestos is
especially popular in developing countries, many of whom continue to
import and use it today, despite the risks.
To arrive at their numbers, the Environmental Health
Perspective study’s authors looked at the correlation between asbestos
use and mesothelioma deaths in 89 countries, which accounted for more
than 82 percent of the world’s population in the year 2000. The study
assessed each country’s level of asbestos use between 1920 and 1970 and
compared it with each country’s mesothelioma deaths between 1994 and
2008. The United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan were
the largest users of asbestos. Because many of the smaller, poorer
countries that also use asbestos tend to have less reliable reporting
practices, the authors cautioned that the actual numbers of mesothelioma
cases may be even higher than the study suggests.
“Our most
important finding is the magnitude of unreported mesothelioma in
countries that use asbestos at substantial levels but report no cases of
the disease,” study co-author Ken Takahashi
said in a press release. Takahashi says any country that uses asbestos
is certain to have mesothelioma cases and countries whose use has
increased, rather than decreased, since 1970 are likely to see a rise in
cases in the coming decades.
Takahashi and his
co-authors call on all countries to stop mining, using and exporting
asbestos in order to prevent mesothelioma. The new study is the first to
provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on
asbestos use and reported mesothelioma cases. The prognosis for mesothelioma is usually poor.
Source:
Mesothelioma
