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Incidence of mesothelioma

The following statistics outline the incidence of mesothelioma in Australia only. These incidence are based on calendar year of which people are diagnosed with mesothelioma by state or territory in that year. In 2005, there were 597 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in Australia. Of these new cases, 81% were men.

The data supplied within this article is from the National Cancer Statistics Clearing House (NCSCH) which is operated by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) under the supervision of the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (AACR). If you wish to have the full report please contact us.

Figure 1 shows the distribution by age and sex of new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in 2005. There were 485 men diagnosed with mesothelioma. These men were predominately of older age: 365 (75%) were aged 65 years or more. There were no new cases recorded involving men under the age of 35 years.

In 2005, there were 112 women diagnosed with mesothelioma. Similarly, these women
were predominately of older age: 77 (69%) were aged 65 year or more. There were
two women aged 30–34 years diagnosed: but none of younger ages.

Figure 2 shows the age-specific incidence rates (new cases per 100,000 population)for the year 2005. For men, the incidence rate increased consistently and considerably with age: reaching a maximum of 47 new cases per 100,000 males among men aged 80–84. For women, a similar, but less distinct, pattern was observed. The maximum rate for women also occurred among those aged 80–84 years: 8 new cases per 100,000 females.

Figure 3 shows that the number of new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in each year has been rising dramatically at least since 1982, when national data first became available, reaching a figure of 645 new cases in 2003. Since then, in 2004 and 2005, the number decreased to 599 and 597 respectively. Although this decrease is promising, it is too early to identify it as a turning point in the trend.

Figures 4 and 5 show age-specific incidence rates for selected age groups for men and women respectively. The graphs show that for both men and women, the incidence rates in the two oldest age groups have increased considerably over the period since 1982. The rate for males aged 80 years and over increased from 7 new cases per 100,000 population in 1982 to 47 in 2005. Similarly, among women of the same age, the rate increased from 0.5 new cases per 100,000 population in 1982 to 7 in 2005.

Figure 6 shows the age-standardised incidence of new cases of mesothelioma(per 100,000 population) over the period 1982 to 2005. The overall incidence rate increased over the period: from a minimum of 1.1 new cases per 100 000 population in 1983 to a maximum of 3.2 in 2003. Since that date, the rate declined slightly: to 2.9 and 2.8 in 2004 and 2005 respectively.