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United States Cancer Statistics
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November 12, 2024
February 13, 2025
Incidence of Malignant Mesothelioma
What to know
Mesothelioma is a cancer that forms in the tissue that lines many internal organs. The rate of new mesothelioma cases is going down because fewer people are exposed to asbestos.
Overview
Mesothelioma is a cancer that forms in the mesothelium, the thin tissue that lines many internal organs. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer—2,803 cases were reported in the United States in 2021. Exposure to asbestos causes most cases of mesothelioma.
Asbestos was used in many consumer products, automobile parts, and building materials in the 20th century before scientists learned about its dangers to health. The potential for asbestos exposure in the United States peaked in the 1970s but has since declined as U.S. asbestos mines were closed and asbestos-containing products and materials were withdrawn from the market.
The decline in asbestos exposure is reflected by declines in mesothelioma incidence rates. However, people can still be exposed to asbestos in some consumer products and older buildings.
How mesothelioma is defined
The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition (ICD-O-3) defines mesothelioma with the following histology:
* 9050 (mesothelioma).
* 9051 (fibrous mesothelioma).
* 9052 (epithelioid mesothelioma).
* 9053 (mesothelioma, biphasic).
* 9055 (multicystic mesothelioma).
Mesothelioma is also defined by the part of the body it is found in, using ICD-O-3 anatomic site codes. The most common site is in the tissue around the lungs, called the pleura (ICD-O-3 anatomic site code C38.4). Mesothelioma may also form in:
* the tissue in the abdomen (peritoneum; C48.0 to C48.8).
* the tissue around the heart (pericardium; C38.0).
* the tissue around the testicles (tunica vaginalis; C63.7).
Table and figures
Table 1. Number and percentagea of new malignant mesothelioma casesb by sex and typec, United States, 1999–2021
Site Male Female Total
Count Percentage Count Percentage Count Percentage
All cases (ICD-3-O anatomic site code) 53,885 100.0% 16,825 100.0% 70,710 100.0%
Pleura (C38.4) 45,515 84.5% 12,067 71.7% 57,582 81.4%
Peritoneum (C48.0-C48.8) 4,093 7.6% 3,320 19.7% 7,413 10.5%
Pericardium (C38.0) 69 0.1% 50 0.3% 119 0.2%
Tunica vaginalis (C63.7) 118 0.2% 0 0.0% 118 0.2%
Other 4,090 7.6% 1,388 8.2% 5,478 7.7%
Figure 1. Rated of new malignant mesothelioma cases by sex and type, United States, 1999–2021
SexOverallMaleFemale
CasesAllPleuralPeritoneal
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01.02.0Rate19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Year of Diagnosis
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Data Table
Data table showing data for the chart figure.
Not Applicable 1999 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 1999 in ascending order 2000 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2000 in ascending order 2001 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2001 in ascending order 2002 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2002 in ascending order 2003 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2003 in ascending order 2004 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2004 in ascending order 2005 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2005 in ascending order 2006 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2006 in ascending order 2007 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2007 in ascending order 2008 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2008 in ascending order 2009 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2009 in ascending order 2010 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2010 in ascending order 2011 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2011 in ascending order 2012 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2012 in ascending order 2013 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2013 in ascending order 2014 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2014 in ascending order 2015 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2015 in ascending order 2016 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2016 in ascending order 2017 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2017 in ascending order 2018 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2018 in ascending order 2019 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2019 in ascending order 2020 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2020 in ascending order 2021 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2021 in ascending order
Rate 1.1029 1.1155 1.0953 1.0953 1.0776 1.0924 1.1003 1.0563 1.0255 1.0347 1.0215 1.0250 1.0109 0.9688 0.9523 0.9433 0.9037 0.8677 0.8561 0.7827 0.7682 0.7009 0.6997
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Figure 2. Rated of new malignant mesothelioma cases by age at diagnosis, United States, 1999–2021
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01.02.03.04.05.06.07.08.09.010.0Rate19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Year of Diagnosis
Age at diagnosis (years)
Younger than 4545-5455-6465-7475-8485 and older
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Year Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by Year in ascending order 1999 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 1999 in ascending order 2000 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2000 in ascending order 2001 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2001 in ascending order 2002 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2002 in ascending order 2003 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2003 in ascending order 2004 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2004 in ascending order 2005 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2005 in ascending order 2006 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2006 in ascending order 2007 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2007 in ascending order 2008 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2008 in ascending order 2009 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2009 in ascending order 2010 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2010 in ascending order 2011 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2011 in ascending order 2012 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2012 in ascending order 2013 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2013 in ascending order 2014 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2014 in ascending order 2015 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2015 in ascending order 2016 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2016 in ascending order 2017 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2017 in ascending order 2018 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2018 in ascending order 2019 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2019 in ascending order 2020 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2020 in ascending order 2021 Press command, modifier, or enter key to sort by 2021 in ascending order
Younger than 45 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0
45-54 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3
55-64 2.1 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9
65-74 5.5 5.4 5.1 5.1 4.7 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.4 4.4 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.4 3.0 2.9 2.5 2.4
75-84 8.2 8.7 8.4 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.7 8.2 8.4 8.6 9.5 8.7 8.2 8.3 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.8 7.2 6.9 6.4 6.4
85 and older 5.6 6.5 6.7 5.9 6.9 7.3 8.2 7.2 7.6 8.8 7.9 7.9 8.5 8.7 8.3 8.2 8.6 7.9 7.9 7.2 7.4 6.8 6.6
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Skipped data table.
Data source
Data in this brief come from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics. U.S. Cancer Statistics incidence data are from population-based registries that participate in CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and/or the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and met high-quality data criteria during 1999–2021 for the 2023 data submission period, covering 97% of the U.S. population (excluding data from Indiana, Mississippi, and South Dakota).
The 2023 data submission, released in June 2024, includes new cancer cases diagnosed in 2020 and 2021, the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The missed cancer diagnoses resulting from disruptions in health services caused by the pandemic may have contributed to an observed decline in incidence for most cancer sites in 2020. The numbers of new cases diagnosed in 2021 are still a little lower than expected for some cancer types but have returned to pre-pandemic counts for other cancer types. Caution must be taken when examining trends to avoid incorrect interpretations of the effect of cancer prevention and early detection efforts. Observed downward trends may be due largely to the lower observed incidence in 2020.
Footnotes
a Percentages in Table 1 may not add to 100% due to rounding.
b Based on cases with ICD-O-3 histology codes 9050, 9051, 9052, 9053, or 9055. 94% of cases were based on microscopic confirmation.
c “Other” includes all other anatomic sites. The most common were lung and bronchus (C34.0 to C34.9; 66% of “other” cases); unknown primary site (C80.9; 14%); mediastinum (C38.1 to C38.3 and C38.8; 4%); soft tissue (C49.1 to C49.9; 4%); and testis (C62.0 to C62.9; 4%). Other sites made up less than 3% of “other” cases.
d New cancer cases per 100,000 standard population. Rates were age adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
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