Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Between 2013 and 2023, 40,538 cases of occupational cancer were recorded in the European Union. In 2023, 3,500 cases were recorded, an increase of 191 cases compared to 2022 (3,309 cases).

The term occupational cancer refers to cancers caused by exposure to carcinogens in the workplace, usually as a result of long-term exposure. Many of these cases appear years after the initial exposure, sometimes even 40 years later.

The figures for 2020 (3,094 cases), 2021 (3,258 cases), and 2022 (3,309 cases) were lower than the 2013-2019 average of 3,909 cases per year, possibly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplaces and healthcare systems. This information is drawn from occupational disease data published by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels.
Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma: 81.3% of Cases
Analysis of data from 2013 to 2023 reveals that the most common occupational cancers are lung cancer (16,499 cases) and mesothelioma (16,469 cases) (a type of cancer linked to asbestos exposure that develops in the thin layer of tissue covering many internal organs, known as the mesothelium). Together, these two types accounted for 81.3% of all newly diagnosed occupational cancers during this period. Bladder cancer followed with 2,696 cases.