Leeds, United Kingdom – British researchers based in Leeds have reported the results of an extensive study carried out this century that confirms that the incidence of mesothelioma is on the rise.

The report, entitled “Population-based epidemiology and prognosis of mesothelioma in Leeds, United Kingdom,” appears in the January 17 early online issue of the “Thorax” medical journal. The research group, Chapman A, Mulrennan S, and Ladd B, et. al., studied population of 750,000 people based in Leeds.

Among the most significant data is the observation that the incidence of mesothelioma increased in the population studied, and that the results indicated that the prognosis for mesothelioma was worse than previous studies suggested.

According to the researchers, their study may be more significant for one very important reason. Most recent published studied about malignant mesothelioma had involved the study of patients in clinical trials for palliative chemotherapy treatments. That meant that the demographics of the patients being studied was not necessarily representative of the entire population of people in the community with mesothelioma.

This is an important consideration, because the accuracy of scientific studies is low when the study group includes fewer subjects. The larger the study group, the more accurate the results are likely to be.

The current report from Chapman et. al. studied all patients with mesothelioma in a total population of 750,000 people, between 2001 and 2005. They identified a total of 153 people with mesothelioma. Of those 153 patients,
* 73% reported “definite or possible” asbestos exposure
* 77% were male
* The median age was 74 years, with a range of 36 to 93 years
* Median survival time from diagnosis was nine months
* 75% had pleural effusion when diagnosed
* 42 patients had a surgical resection (of these, 14% of patients had a cancer recurrence)
* 73 patients were given radiation therapy
* Seven patients developed biopsy tract invasion, in which cancer invades a biopsy site (six of these had been given radiation therapy)
* 54 patients were eligible for chemotherapy (36%)
* 28 of those who were eligible for chemotherapy declined treatment
* 18% entered into a clinical trial with radiotherapy or chemotherapy
From the data they gained, the researchers concluded that the mesothelioma patients in the group were “presenting” (being diagnosed) at a more advanced age, and with worse “performance scores” (prognosis) than had previously been reported.

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