Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. The incidence rate varies from one country to another, from a low rate of less than 1 per 1,000,000 in Tunisia and Morocco, to the highest rate in Britain, Australia and Belgium: 30 per 1,000,000 per year.[37] For comparison, populations with high levels of smoking can have a lung cancer incidence of over 1,000 per 1,000,000.
Incidence of malignant mesothelioma currently ranges from about 7 to 40 per 1,000,000 in industrialized Western nations, depending on the amount of asbestos exposure of the populations during the past several decades.[38] It has been estimated that incidence may have peaked at 15 per 1,000,000 in the United States in 2004. Incidence is expected to continue increasing in other parts of the world. Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age. Approximately one fifth to one third of all mesotheliomas are peritoneal.
Between 1940 and 1979, approximately 27.5 million people were occupationally exposed to asbestos in the United States.[39] Between 1973 and 1984, the incidence of pleural mesothelioma among Caucasian males increased 300%. From 1980 to the late 1990s, the death rate from mesothelioma in the USA increased from 2,000 per year to 3,000, with men four times more likely to acquire it than women. These rates may not be accurate, since it is possible that many cases of mesothelioma are misdiagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung, which is difficult to differentiate from mesothelioma.
[edit] Society and culture
[edit] Notable cases
Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients.
[edit] Notable cases
Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients.
Malcolm McLaren, former manager of New York Dolls and Sex Pistols, died on 8 April 2010.
Billy Vaughn, American bandleader, died in 1991.
Hamilton Jordan, Chief of Staff for U.S. President Jimmy Carter and lifelong cancer activist, died in 2008.
Richard J. Herrnstein, psychologist and co-author of The Bell Curve, died in 1994.
Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bellear died in 2005.
British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney, responsible for nearly 100 works, also died in 2005.
Billy Vaughn, American bandleader, died in 1991.
Hamilton Jordan, Chief of Staff for U.S. President Jimmy Carter and lifelong cancer activist, died in 2008.
Richard J. Herrnstein, psychologist and co-author of The Bell Curve, died in 1994.
Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bellear died in 2005.
British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney, responsible for nearly 100 works, also died in 2005.
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