AQW 13317/17-22 Written question to the Minister of Health
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the (i) incidence rate of mesothelioma; and (ii) number of people currently living with the condition in each Health and Social Care Trust.
Asked by Paula Bradshaw MLA on 25 January 2021
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 25 January 2021
- Answer due by
- 9 February 2021
- Answered
- 8 February 202114 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Health
- Priority question
- No
Answer
Full registration of all cancer patients in Northern Ireland (NI) is currently only available from the NI Cancer Registry (NICR) up to the end of 2018.
(i) Incidence rate of mesothelioma
During 2014-2018 there were 243 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed. This is an incidence rate of 2.6 cases diagnosed each year per 100,000 persons in Northern Ireland.
(ii) Number of people currently living with the condition in each Health and Social Care Trust
Mesothelioma has a very poor survival rate (approximately 5%, five years from diagnosis). Thus at the end of 2018 there were only 53 people resident in Northern Ireland who had a diagnosis of mesothelioma in the 26-year period from 1993 to 2018. The number of residents in each Health and Social Care Trust at the end of 2018 can be found in table 1 below.
Table 1. Number of residents in Northern Ireland with a diagnosis of mesothelioma at the end of 2018.
| Health and Social Care Trust of residence at the end of 2018 | Number of survivors* |
| Belfast HSCT | 18 |
| Northern HSCT | 13 |
| South-Eastern HSCT | 12 |
| Southern HSCT | 9 |
| Western HSCT | 6 |
| Northern Ireland | 58 |
* Patients diagnosed during 1993-2018 who were still alive at the end of 2018