| |
|
| Thursday, January 19, 2006 |
| Some statistics related to Mesothelioma |
Mesothelioma is a rare disease. There are an estimated 2000 to 3000 new cases of mesothelioma every year in the United States and what is worrying is the fact that this figure appears to be increasing.
• Approximately 2000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Internationally, the incidence is approximately 9 cases per every 1 million persons.
• Malignant mesothelioma has a peak incidence about 40 years after asbestos exposure, and it commonly develops when a person is between 50 and 70 years of age.
• Since diagnosis is often made very late in this particular disease, the average age of diagnosis is 50 to 70 years. The disease affects men 3 to 5 times more often than women. African Americans are less susceptible to acquire mesothelioma than white Americans. Of men with mesothelioma, a case series study showed that 45% had a history of exposure to asbestos and 53% had occupational exposure to asbestos. Most of the men were railroad workers, construction workers, naval mechanics and automobile mechanics
• Mesothelioma is a fatal disease and the fact that it’s diagnosed mostly at the advanced level increases the risk of death due to this disease. The average survival time is about 12-18 months. However, if there is early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, almost half of the patients whose cancer is found early could live up to another two years and about 20% survive for about five years or more. The sarcomatoid type is the most aggressive with a median survival rate of approximately 9.4 months. The epithelioid and biphasic (or mixed) have somewhat longer survival rates at 12.5 and 11 months, respectively.
• Mesothelioma has a long latency (inactive) period of 15-20 years.
• Experts predict that mesothelioma diagnoses will continue to increase in the United States for at least another 10 to 20 years.
• While some forms of asbestos have been banned in many countries, an estimated 5000 asbestos containing products exist today.
• As many as 8 million people in the U.S. have already been exposed to asbestos
• One study of asbestos insulation workers reported a mesothelioma death rate up to 344 times higher than the general population.
• By the year 2030, there are estimates that asbestos will have caused 60000 instances of mesothelioma.
• Over half a million asbestos and mesothelioma injury claims have been filed so far. Over 50000 were filed in 1998 alone.
• Incidence ( annual ) of Mesothelioma is 563 new cases in the UK 2002 (UK Government Statistics)
• Incidence rate is approximately 1 in 106,571 or 0.00% or 2,552 people in USA
• Deaths from Mesothelioma are 2,371 deaths in America 2001 (NCHS, 2003)
• Deaths from Mesothelioma are 1848 deaths in the UK 2001(UK Government Statistics)
• 1,631 deaths in the UK 2000 (UK Government Statistics) expected to peak at 1,950 to 2,450 deaths in the UK between 2011-15 (UK Government Statistics)
• A recent study of auto shops in six states and DC found that two-thirds of the surveyed locations showed substantial levels of asbestos. This survey clearly indicates that lifting the EPA Guidance, would put the 750,000 brake mechanics in the United States at greater risk.
• Mesothelioma has no preference for race or gender, as asbestos exposure is thought to be the most important risk factor. Asbestos exposure is directly linked to at least 50% of the cases.
• Pemetrexed (brand name Alimta™) is a novel antifolate, a class of drugs that targets the folic acid metabolic pathway, which effects availability of certain B complex vitamins. The results of the trial show that tumors shrank in 41 percent of patients on pemetrexed in combination with a more commonly used chemotherapy agent called cisplatin. Only 17 percent of patients receiving cisplatin alone experienced tumor shrinkage. Additionally, those on the pemetrexed combination lived nearly three months longer than those on cisplatin alone.
• In 1998 and 1999, 542 incident cases of mesothelioma were reported in the nine SEER ( Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program) areas, accounting for incidence rates of 14.81 in 1998 (n = 267 cases) and 13.22 in 1999 (n = 275 cases). Seattle (Puget Sound), San Francisco–Oakland, and New Mexico had the highest incidence rates, and Hawaii the lowest.
• One of the most tragic statistics is that for nearly 20% of mesothelioma cases in the United States, “mesothelioma” is not mentioned on the death certificate or, if mentioned, is miscoded. |
posted by Simon @ 6:09 PM  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
