Speaker: , Senior Research Officer, Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University

It has been estimated that between 237 and 425 deaths that are directly attributable to work-related cancer occur each year in New Zealand. The most easily counted of the occupational cancers are the asbestos-related diseases, and in particular mesothelioma as asbestos exposure is the only known cause. Over the last 10 years there has been an average of 93 cases of mesothelioma each year, and it is generally assumed that there would be at least the same number of lung cancer cases each year due to occupational asbestos exposure. There is no other type of cancer that is so clearly linked to a single exposure, so the remaining cases of occupational cancer can only be estimated from well conducted epidemiological studies, either cohort studies of specific occupational groups or population-based case-control studies of specific diseases. This presentation will outline what is known about occupational cancer from recent epidemiological studies conducted in New Zealand.