Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Portugal: a scoping review

Abstract Introduction Asbestos, widely used for its important chemical and physical characteristics, are recognized in all their varieties as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and as the leading cause of cancer associated with occupational exposure in industrialized countries. Despite being the most studied occupational hazard since 1965, it is the malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), the decisive aspect in the study of the exposure to asbestos. Objectives Make a state of the art of the relationships between asbestos and MPM in Portugal. Methodology A scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology was conducted using five information’s sources: Pubmed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Scopus and Google Scholar and Open Access Scientific Repositories of Portugal and DART-Europe E-theses Portal to search also for gray literature. Data were collected between 1960-2019, with the keywords "Asbestos" and "Mesothelioma” and “Portugal”. Inclusion criteria were defined for types of participants, concept, context and types of studies. Results Of the 1453 studies reviewed 9 were included. The oldest study is from 1986. Five studies are about incidence and survival, two are case reports, one about exposure and mortality and one about treatment. To analyse incidence and mortality, four authors used hospital data and two the data from the southern regional cancer registry (ROR). In these studies, it is also presented the description of the population in terms of mean age, type of exposure, latency time, histological type and stage. Conclusion Portugal, such as other industrialized countries, used asbestos in a massive way, but despite this, few studies and data on the relationship between asbestos exposure and MPM are found. Dedicated studies are needed to objectively assess the true dimension of this potential problem in Portugal and characterise the different types of exposures related to MPM.