Regionale spreiding van het maligne mesothelioom in Nederland: Deelrapport 1

This report describes the regional differences in the occurrence of pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma in the Netherlands and answers the question whether pleural mesothelioma occurs more often in the asbestos-polluted area around Goor than in other areas in the Netherlands. The data on mesothelioma incidence in the period 1989-2002 were obtained from the Dutch Cancer Register. The information on age-specific distribution of men and women in the 40 regions of the Netherlands and the risk area around Goor were obtained from Statistics Netherlands.
The incidence rates of pleural mesothelioma in the 40 regions of the Netherlands among men and women were strongly associated. The incidence of pleural mesothelioma was statistically significant increased in 10 regions among men and 6 regions among women, including the region Twente. The regional differences reflect the well-known distribution of asbestos-related industries, especially shipyards, asbestos-producing facilities, and asbestos insulation companies. ln the risk area around Goor the incidence of pleural mesothelioma among women was 5-fold increased compared with the Netherlands and 2.5-fold increased compared with the region Twente. For men these figures were 2 and 1.5, respectively. ln the risk area around Goor the incidence of pleural mesothelioma among women was statistically higher than the incidence among men. ln the period 1989-2002 the risk area around Goor had an additional incidence of 19 cases of pleural mesothelioma among women compared with the other areas in The Netherlands.
These findings present strong indications that the environmental pollution to asbestos waste materials in the area around Goor plays a specific role in the explanation of the strongly increased incidence of pleural mesothelioma among women in this area.