The launch of a new Australian Mesothelioma Registry may constitute an important part of the international struggle with asbestos regulations, and could be an important step towards new discoveries about the disease. The registry, established at the Bernie Banton Centre in Sydney, will aim to collect detailed information about each specific cases of mesothelioma in Australia. The data that’s collected could help to improve the understanding of the circumstances that cause the disease, as well as improve international efforts to develop more effective treatments and prevention programs.
“The NSW Government’s Cancer Institute has been awarded a major contract to manage and operate a national register of mesothelioma cases on behalf of the Commonwealth Government,” said Premier Kristina Keneally about the project.
“The Cancer Institute is recognized as a national leader in the management of cancer registries and will manage the new registry with a consortium including the Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Sydney, the Asbestos Disease Research Institute and the Western Australian Cancer Registry.”
The new registry was launched by the New South Wales Minister Assisting the Minister of Health Frank Sartor, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard, and Kristina Kineally, the New South Wales Premier. Combining management by a consortium of organizations led by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales, and participation by a variety of Australia’s leading asbestos illness specialists, the registry hopes to improve the world’s understanding of the disease as well as its effectiveness at combating it.
Mesothelioma is a rare and terminal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. At one time, Australia had the highest asbestos consumption per capita in the world, a fact which is certainly connected to their current struggle with asbestos related diseases. While Australia and many other nations have effectively banned the use of the dangerous substance, a wide variety of developing nations still import asbestos products and use them with little or no safety precautions.
The establishment of the Australian Mesothelioma Registry will help to amass evidence of asbestos’s ill health effects, and could play an important role in the ongoing international debate concerning the appropriate restrictions for asbestos products.
