Use of death certificates for mesothelioma surveillance.

Data from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry and death certificates were linked for mesothelioma cases reported to the registry from 1982 through 1987 to determine the extent to which the cause of death information that is given on the death certificate is useful in identifying mesothelioma cases for disease surveillance. Only 12 percent of all persons reported with mesothelioma who had died were detected using underlying cause of death codes for cancers of the peritoneum and pleura, which are commonly used to identify mesothelioma cases. The rate increased to 83 percent when death certificates were reviewed manually for any mention of mesothelioma. Surveillance using only the coded cause of death data currently available will result in a large underascertainment of mesothelioma cases.