A total of 37.022 cases of workplace cancer were identified in the EU between 2013 and 2022, according to data on work-related diseases published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
Cancers caused by exposure to carcinogens in the workplace, generally due to long-term exposure (occupational cancer), often appear several years after the initial exposure, even after 40 years.
The figures for 2020 (3094 cases per year), 2021 (3258) and 2022 (3309) were lower than the annual average for the period 2013 – 2019 (3909 cases per year), possibly due to the effects of the pandemic. COVID-19 in healthcare systems.
Specifically regarding data from 2013 to 2022, the most common types of occupational cancers were lung cancer with 15.272 cases and mesothelioma with 14.914 cases (a type of cancer linked to asbestos exposure, which develops in the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs, known as the mesothelium).
These two types of cancer combined accounted for 81,5% of all new reported cases of occupational cancer during this period. Bladder cancer cases followed at 2.559.
Source: KYPE
