The annual number of mesotheliomas increased rapidly in 1975-1990. In the 1990s, the age-adjusted incidence remained relatively stable for Finnish men. The annual number of cases still increased among men over 65 years of age, but decreased slightly among men under 55 years of age and among women. The increasing trend in the incidence of mesothelioma in Finland has slowed down in the 1990s, and the maximum of asbestos-related cases in the early 2000s will probably be clearly less than the 100 annual cases estimated in the early 1990s. Altogether 40-50 of these cases would be related to occupational asbestos exposure.
Pleural plaque is recognized as a reliable marker of previous exposure to asbestos.
However, it is controversial whether pleural plaque is a risk indicator for asbestos-related malignancies. In the present study, the thoracic cavities were examined for pleural plaques in 3,005 necropsies performed at the Monfalcone Hospital in people aged 15 years or older. These differences reached the statistical significance for total plaques, and classes 2, 3. The present data are consistent with the idea that pleural plaque is a risk indicator for pleural mesothelioma. Serum concentrations of CEA and Cyfra were compared in patients with mesothelioma.