Asbestos and cancer in Finland

Primary prevention carried out today can reduce the disease incidence in the future decades. The present disease panorama is the consequence of past asbestos exposure mainly before the 1970s. The peak incidence of asbestos-induced diseases will be reached around 2010 in Finland. The number of asbestos-related premature deaths is at present annually about 150 which exceeds the figure of fatal work accidents. Asbestos-related cancer will increase still for 15-20 years and reach its maximum, about 300 cases, in 2010, and will start to decrease after that. More than 20,000 asbestos-exposed workers have participated in the medical screening and follow-up. The termination of exposure, antismoking campaigns, improved diagnostics and careful attention to compensation issues, as well as other potentials for prevention, were the central issue of the Asbestos Program of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. An important objective of research work is to improve early diagnostics, and thereby treatment prospects, in case of asbestos-induced cancers.