Gender differences in pleural mesothelioma occurrence in Lombardy and Piedmont, Italy

Background: Higher mesothelioma rates in men (vs women) reflect more frequent and more intense asbestos exposure. We assessed the impact of exposure difference between genders on age-specific rates of pleural mesothelioma (PM) occurrence using data from two Italian regions. Methods: We used data from the Lombardy and Piedmont mesothelioma registries (period 2000–2016, age 45–74 years) to compare rates of PM in men and women and to estimate the rate advancement period (RAP). Results: Based on 3384 cases (2405 men, 979 women) in Lombardy and 2042 (1389 men, 653 women) in Piedmont, the rate ratio was 2.81 (90% confidence interval: 2.61–3.03) in Lombardy and 2.39 (2.17–2.62) in Piedmont. In both regions RAP ranged from 7 to 10 years (at age 45 and 63 in men, respectively). Conclusion: Men showed more than twofold increased PM rates and reached the same incidence as women 7–10 years earlier. RAP can be a useful measure of exposure impact on premature disease occurrence.