A study looking at the occupations of men and women and the development of mesothelioma and lung cancer (MALCS)

The study team confirmed that people who worked in jobs with high levels of exposure to asbestos have an increased lifetime risk of developing either mesothelioma or lung cancer. They also found an increased risk in men and women who lived with an exposed worker before the age of 30.

The researchers collected information from men with mesothelioma or lung cancer, and women with mesothelioma. They also collected information from people without cancer. These people acted as the control group for this study. Their results were compared to the results of the group who have lung cancer or mesothelioma. These results are based on interviews with 622 people with mesothelioma and 1420 people in the control group.

The study found that

• Men exposed to asbestos in occupations which are considered at high risk (dockyards, on ships, asbestos factories, power generation and insulation) accounted for 36 out of 100 (36%) of male mesothelioma cases born 1925-40 and 27 out of 100 (27%) of male mesothelioma cases born 1940-65
• The majority of people with mesothelioma worked in construction related industries
• 6 out of 100 British men (6%) who were born in the 1940’s and worked as a carpenter for 10 years or more will develop mesothelioma during their lifetime
• 2 out of 100 British men (2%) who were born in the 1940’s and worked as a plumber, electrician or painter for 10 years or more will develop mesothelioma during their lifetime
• The risk of developing mesothelioma in people not exposed to asbestos but who lived with an exposed worker before the age of 30 is  about  2 in a 1000. This is double the risk of the general population
• There was no increased risk in people who reported living with a mile of an asbestos factory, shipyard or power plant
• Being exposed to asbestos also increases the risk of lung cancer by about the same amount as for mesothelioma. The researchers state that for example 1 in 10 of all British carpenters born in the 1940s may die from an asbestos related cancer

The information in the first bullet point was provided directly by the research team the rest of the information is from the results from the 1st phase of recruitment into the study. They were published in 2009. The study closed in 2013 and the researchers hope there may be published results based on additional information in the future.

We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed ) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.