Læknablaðið - 15.06.1998, Page 24

474
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ 1998; 84
Nýgengi illkynja mesóþelíóma á íslandi
1965-1995
Vilhjálmur Rafnsson", Kristrún R. Benediktsdóttir21
Rafnsson V, Benediktsdóttir KR
Incidence of malignant mesothelioma in Iceland
1965-1995
Læknablaðið 1998; 84; 474-82
Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the
incidence of malignant mesothelioma in Iceland
1965-1995, as malignant mesothelioma is consider-
ed an indicator of past asbestos exposure in the
population.
Material and methods: All histological and obduct-
ion reports were reviewed and all specimens were re-
evaluated from patients with the diagnosis of malig-
nant mesothelioma reported to the Cancer Registry
or found in the ftles of the Department of Pathology
in the University Hospital in Reykjavík since 1984.
Crude annual incidence was calculated on the basis
of number of cases and mean population of men and
women. Information on import of goods which
among other things contained asbestos was obtained
from the Statistics of Iceland.
Results: Twenty patients with malignant mesotheli-
oma were found, seven women and 13 men. The
annual incidence of malignant mesothelioma was
0.75 per 100 thousand for men and 0.27 for women
during 1980-1995. The incidence seems to have
increased in the past 30 years. Eight of the 20 pati-
ents had other causes of death coded on the death
certificate. The import of goods containing asbestos
decreased with the introduction of the asbestos ban,
it has however increased again since 1990.
Coniusions: The incidence of malignant mesotheli-
Frá "Rannsóknarstofu í heilbrigðisfræði, Háskóla íslands
og atvinnusjúkdómadeild Vinnueftirlits ríkisins, 2lRann-
sóknastofu Háskólans í meinafræði. Fyrirspurnir, bréfa-
skipti: Vilhjálmur Rafnsson, Rannsóknarstofu í heilbrigðis-
fræði, Sóltúni 1, 105 Reykjavík. Sími 525 5213.
Lykilorð: vefjagreining, dánan/ottorð, asbest, innflutning-
ur, mengun.
oma seems to be increasing in Iceland which indi-
cates that there is yet not a reduction of the influence
of previous asbestos exposure. This is to be expected
as there is a relatively short time since the use of as-
bestos decreased. The incidence here is on the same
level as in Finland, but is lower than found recently
in studies from Norway and US. It is suggested that
physicians should pay more attention to past expo-
sure of their cancer patients, as such exposure,
occupational or other, may be relevant for the
development of the cancer.
Key terms: histological diagnosis, death certificate, as-
bestos, import, exposure.
Ágrip
Markmið: Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að
kanna nýgengi illkynja mesóþelíóma á Islandi
1965-1995, en illkynja mesóþelíóma er talin
vísbending um asbestmengun sem íbúahópur-
inn hefur áður orðið fyrir.
Efniviður og aðferðir: Upplýsingar um alla
sjúklinga sem greindust með illkynja mesóþel-
íóma voru fengnar frá Krabbameinsskrá og
leitað var í tölvuskrá Rannsóknastofu Háskól-
ans í meinafræði eftir 1984. Farið var yfir
vefjasvör og krufningaskýrslur og öll sýni voru
endurskoðuð. Arlegt nýgengi var reiknað út frá
fjölda tilfella og meðalmannfjölda karla og
kvenna. Ur Hagskýrslum Islands fengust upp-
lýsingar um innflutning eftir tollflokkum á vör-
um, sem meðal annars innihalda asbest.
Niðurstöður: Tuttugu sjúklingar fundust
með vefjagreininguna illkynja mesóþelíóma,
sjö konur og 13 karlar. A tímabilinu 1980—
1995 var árlegt nýgengi 0,75 á hver 100 þús-
und karla, en 0,27 á hver 100 þúsund kvenna.
Nýgengi virðist hafa hækkað á síðustu 30
árum. Hjá átta af 20 með illkynja mesóþelíóma
eru skráð önnur dánarmein í dánarmeinaskrá.