Causes of Death in Mesothelioma Patients in South East England
Author Information
Author(s): Okello Catherine, Treasure Tom, Nicholson Andrew G, Peto Julian, Møller Henrik
Primary Institution: King's College London
Hypothesis
The study aims to assess the validity of death certification data as a proxy for mesothelioma incidence.
Conclusion
Official mortality data may underestimate the true occurrence of mesothelioma by around 10%.
Supporting Evidence
- 87% of mesothelioma patients had mesothelioma mentioned on their death certificate.
- 6% had lung cancer listed as a cause of death without mentioning mesothelioma.
- Another 6% had unspecified cancer listed as a cause of death.
- 2% had other causes of death specified.
Takeaway
The study looked at death certificates of people with mesothelioma and found that many were not correctly labeled, which means we might not know the true number of mesothelioma cases.
Methodology
The study analyzed death certificates of mesothelioma patients from the Thames Cancer Registry database between 2000 and 2004.
Potential Biases
There is a risk of misclassification of mesothelioma cases as lung cancer or unspecified cancers.
Limitations
The study did not verify mesothelioma cancer registrations, which may lead to misclassification.
Participant Demographics
1985 males and 448 females diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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