Purpose: To describe the epidemiologic characteristics of malignant mesothelioma (MM) in Taiwan; to evaluate the impact of the condition.
Methods: The Taiwan Cancer Registry Database was used to retrieve the cases of MM registered from 1979 to 2005. Only cases of histopathologically verified MM were included. For evaluating the impact of MM, the cancer sites of the pleura and peritoneum (ICD-O codes 163 and 158, respectively) were used for statistical analysis and estimation of the expected years of life lost (EYLL). Their survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and extrapolated to obtain the EYLL using the Monte Carlo simulation by borrowing information from gender- and age-matched populations in Taiwan.
Results: A total of 423 cases of MM were included; MM of the pleura and peritoneum accounted for 91% of all cases (387/423). The median survival of pleural and peritoneal MM was 7.6 and 13.5 months for males and females, respectively. The incidence of MM increased during the observation period. A total of 232 males and 155 females diagnosed with MM were used for estimation of EYLL: 14.8 [95% Confidence Interval: 13.1-16.6] life years for males and 13.7 [11.2-16.2] life years for females.
Conclusion: The increasing incidence and significant EYLL for MM were observed for both males and females during 1979-2005 in Taiwan, although under-diagnosis and under-estimation were likely.
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