Mortality for Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer in a Cohort of Asbestos Cement Workers in BARI (Italy): Time Related Aspects of Exposure.

OBJECTIVE: In this cohort mortality study we used an exposure index to evaluate individual cumulative exposure as proxy of asbestos dose and we evaluated change in cancer mortality pattern after long time since the end of exposure.

METHODS: We calculated SMRs for several causes of death stratified by latency, cumulative exposure and time since last exposure (TSLE).

RESULTS: Latency: we observed a peak and then a decrease in SMR for lung, pleural and peritoneal cancer. CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE:: we observed a peak and then a decrease in SMR for lung and pleural cancer, not for peritoneal cancer. TSLE:: pleural cancer SMR peaked at 20-29 years, then decreased, peritoneal cancer SMR reached a plateau after 20 years and lung cancer mortality was in excess in each class.

CONCLUSIONS: We found different patterns in mortality in the main asbestos-related tumours.