What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that starts from mesothelial cells. These cells line the outer surface of most of the body’s internal organs, forming a protective membrane called the mesothelium. Some mesotheliomas form a mass (tumour), while others grow along the mesothelium and form a thick covering. In later stages, mesothelioma may spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body.

You can access further information about mesothelioma, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is mesothelioma?

In 2024, 152 Victorians were diagnosed with mesothelioma. Of these, there were 116 males and 36 females, representing 76% and 24% of the total Victorian mesothelioma diagnoses, respectively. Currently, mesothelioma is diagnosed at a rate of 2.8 per 100,000 males and 0.74 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of mesothelioma is 73 years in males and 73 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 0.38% of all cancers diagnosed and 1.1% of all cancer-related deaths in 2024, mesothelioma was the 37th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 22nd most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.

Trends in mesothelioma over time

Figure 3a shows for males between 2003 to 2024 the age standardised incidence rate of mesothelioma declined by an average of 2.3% per year.

For females between 1996 to 2024 the age standardised incidence rate of mesothelioma declined by an average of 0.02% per year. However this result wasn’t statistically significant, meaning the change cannot be confidently considered real and may be due to random fluctuations.

Mesothelioma in people born overseas

Figure 4 shows the standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of mesothelioma in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2019 to 2023. The highest standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for mesothelioma was 1.5 for males born in the UK and Ireland region and the lowest SIR of 0.11 was observed in males born in the Southern and Central Asia region. The highest standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for mesothelioma was 1.8 for females born in the Africa region and the lowest SIR of 0.00 was observed in females born in the South and Central America and Southern and Central Asia region.

Mesothelioma five-year relative survival

Figure 5 shows the change in 5-year survival for mesothelioma, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for mesothelioma between 1985-1989 and 2020-2024 from 7% to 12%.