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  • Home > Facts & Figures

Facts & Figures

  • Each year 2,500 to 4,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer affecting the lining of the lung or abdomen, and other asbestos-related diseases.
  • Asbestos-related diseases have a long latency (inactive) period of anywhere between 10 – 70 years.
  • Experts predict that mesothelioma diagnoses will continue to increase in the United States for at least another 10 to 20 years.
  • While many countries have banned certain forms of asbestos, an estimated 5,000 asbestos-containing products exist today. (See a list of dangerous products)
  • As many as 8 million people in the U.S. have already been exposed to asbestos and it continues to pose a serious threat to workers in certain occupations. (Click here for a list of at risk occupations)
  • One study of asbestos insulation workers reported an asbestos cancer death rate up to 344 times higher than the general population.
  • Most mesothelioma victims die within 18 months of diagnosis. Mortality is swift not because the cancer is fast-growing but because it usually is far advanced by the time it is detected.
    Read about the development of a blood test for Mesothelioma diagnosis; Visit our Mesothelioma Articles.
  • Poor prognostic variables include: nonepithelial histology, older age (greater than 75 years), pleural primary, chest pain at presentation, poor performance status, and elevated platelet count (greater than 400,000/mcL).
  • By the year 2030 there are estimates that asbestos will have caused 60,000 instances of mesothelioma and around 250,000 other cancers that result in death.
  • Over half a million asbestos-related injury claims have been filed to date. Over 50,000 were filed in 1998 alone.

Read more about your legal rights and how to obtain a lawyer in our Legal Help section.