The mesothelioma death rate is approximately 2,500 people per year, a number that has risen slightly in recent years. This is compared to the 3,000 people diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Individual factors determine prognosis and how long anyone can live with this disease.
The mesothelioma death rate in the United States from 1999 to 2015 was around 8 deaths per million people, according to a 2017 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During that time period, a total of 45,221 deaths from malignant mesothelioma were reported in the U.S.
For comparison, the country with the highest age-adjusted death rate from 1994 to 2008 was the United Kingdom, with 17.8 deaths per million.
The mortality rate for mesothelioma is relatively stable. There are approximately 3,000 patients diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States each year. The number of mesothelioma deaths per year increased from 2,479 deaths in 1999 to 2,597 deaths in 2015.
Understanding Death Rate Statistics and Other Stats
Death rate and mortality rate may sound different, but these statistics actually refer to the same thing: The number of deaths in general, or from a precise cause, in a specific group of people.
Nearly 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States. That represents 0.02% of all U.S. cancer cases. The death rate is close to the mesothelioma incidence rate because most patients with mesothelioma live around one year, which is not a good prognosis.
Another mesothelioma statistic to understand is the mesothelioma survival rate, which is the percentage of people who live one and five years after diagnosis. About 40% of mesothelioma patients survive at least one year.
CDC Database
The most recent information on asbestos-related death rates comes from CDC WONDER, an online database under the CDC. The database specifies the number of people who died from the disease over an 11-year period from 1999 to 2017.
Age-adjusted Death Rates
Because the latency period between the first exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis of a related cancer is usually between 25 and 50 years, the following death rates only include people aged 25 years and older. Death rates are age-adjusted according to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Mesothelioma Death Rate by Gender
Women tend to live longer with mesothelioma than men. As a result, the death rate is lower in women than it is in men.
Death Rate by Age and Race
Asbestos cancer death rates vary greatly by age group. When sorted by 10-year age groups, the crude (not age-adjusted) death rate was highest among those between the ages of 75 and 84 at 72.4 deaths per million. The death rates for the groups between the ages of 25 and 34 as well as the ages between 35 and 44 were both fewer than one death per million.
- The mesothelioma death rate is much higher among men. From 1999 to 2015, the age-adjusted death rate for men was 24.9 deaths per million, compared with 4.65 deaths per million for women.
- The rate among men fell from 25.5 deaths per million in 1999 to 23 deaths per million in 2010. For women, the death rate fluctuated from 1999-2010, but remained close to this period’s average rate of 4.5 deaths per million.
- The rate for whites is more than double that of any other race. From 1999 to 2015, the age-adjusted death rate among whites was 14.25 deaths per million. The second highest rate was observed in American Indians or Alaska Natives (5.96 deaths per million), followed by Blacks or African Americans (5.84 deaths per million) and Asians or Pacific Islanders (3.52 deaths per million).
US Mesothelioma Deaths by Age, Sex, Race and Ethnicity, 1999-2015
| CHARACTERISTICS | NO. OF DEATHS | DEATH RATE |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 45,221 | 13.10 |
| Underlying† cause | 42,470 | 12.30 |
| Age group | ||
| 25–34 | 138 | 0.20 |
| 35–44 | 544 | 0.75 |
| 45–54 | 1,936 | 2.69 |
| 55–64 | 6,237 | 11.22 |
| 65–74 | 12,985 | 36.31 |
| 75–84 | 16,914 | 76.28 |
| ≥85 | 6,467 | 74.46 |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 36,093 | 24.94 |
| Female | 9,128 | 4.65 |
| Race | ||
| White | 42,778 | 14.25 |
| Black or African American | 1,870 | 5.84 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 440 | 3.52 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 133 | 5.96 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Hispanic | 1,815 | 7.38 |
| Non-Hispanic | 43,316 | 13.46 |
| Unknown | 90 | — |
ACCORDING TO THE CDC’S DATA ON MESOTHELIOMA DEATHS BY AGE, GENDER AND RACE:
- The majority of people who died of asbestos-related cancer from 1999 to 2010 were between the ages of 75 and 84 (11,170 deaths), followed by ages 65 to 74 (8,637 deaths). There were only 91 mesothelioma deaths among those between the ages of 25 and 34.
- Men are diagnosed far more often than women. A total of 23,784 men accounted for 80.2% of related deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2010.
- By race, whites comprised nearly 95% of deaths from asbestos cancers in the 11-year period, with 28,639 deaths. Blacks and African Americans, the next largest racial group for mesothelioma deaths, comprised nearly 3.9% of all deaths with 1,149.
- Asbestos cancer cases among males peaked from 2008 to 2010, with more than 2,000 cases reported per year. The CDC predicts the number of cases should be on the decline, with an expected return to background levels by 2055. Mesothelioma cases among women are expected to increase slightly.
Mesothelioma Deaths by State
According to the CDC report, mesothelioma death rates are highest in the Northeast, Northwest and Midwest.
STATE MESOTHELIOMA DEATH RATE, (1999-2017)
- Maine – 1.7 deaths per 100,000
- West Virginia – 1.4 deaths per 100,000
- Pennsylvania – 1.3 deaths per 100,000
- Washington – 1.2 deaths per 100,000
- Montana – 1.2 deaths per 100,000