What Are The Key Statistics About Malignant Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is fairly rare. There are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma each year in the United States. The incidence of mesotheliomas in the United States increased from 1970 to 1990 and then stabilized. It may now be decreasing. Most of the past increase in cases, as well as the recent decrease in cases, has been in men. The rate, although lower, has been fairly steady for women. In European countries, the rate of mesotheliomas is still increasing.

Mesothelioma is rare in people under age 55. Its incidence increases with age. Three-fourths of people with mesothelioma are over 65 years old. The disease affects men 5 times more often than women. Mesothelioma is less common in African Americans than in white Americans.

Mesothelioma is a serious disease. By the time the symptoms appear and cancer is diagnosed, the disease is often advanced. The average survival time is about 1 year. The 5-year relative survival rate is around 10%, but this rate has been slowly improving.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Many of these patients live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis, and 5-year rates are used to produce a standard way of discussing prognosis. Five-year relative survival rates do not include patients dying of other diseases and are considered to be a more accurate way to describe the prognosis for patients with a particular type and stage of cancer. That means that relative survival only talks about deaths from mesothelioma. Of course, 5-year survival rates are based on patients diagnosed and initially treated more than 5 years ago. They may no longer be accurate. Improvements in treatment result in a more favorable outlook for recently diagnosed patients.

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