FEARS that we are on the brink of an epidemic of a deadly form of lung cancer have been echoed by a North-East expert.

Chest specialist Dr Chris Stenton told a conference on meso-thelioma, an incurable form of lung cancer caused by significant exposure to asbestos fibres, that his experience supports grim forecasts made earlier this year.

Most of the patients seen by the Newcastle consultant were exposed to asbestos in the middle part of last century, he said.

But graphs, which show that peak asbestos imports were in the 1970s, suggest that the bulge in the number of cases predicted in the British Medical Journal will happen in the next ten to 15 years.

Dr Stenton, who was speaking at a conference in Newcastle organised by Irwin Mitchell solicitors called Mesothelioma: the Silent Epidemic, said it was predicted that about 80,000 people would die in the UK.

"We have watched this condition going from rare to something that is now quite common," said Dr Stenton, who sees up to 300 cases every year.

He told an audience of doctors, nurses and carers that the outlook for mesothelioma cases was still "depressingly unsuccessful". Of a sample group of 100 patients treated at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, most survived between eight and 12 months after diagnosis.

"However, my oldest surviving patient has had treatment for six years," he said, adding that there was a need to raise awareness to try to boost research.

"We also need better management and treatment," he said.

Mesothelioma usually takes from 30 to 40 years to develop. It attacks the exterior of the lungs resulting in breathlessness and chest pain.

Most victims will have been in contact with asbestos at work, but some partners have become ill after washing work clothes.

Roger Maddocks, a partner at Irwin Mitchell's Newcastle branch, urged people diagnosed with the disease, or their families, to consult a specialist lawyer about a possible compensation claim.

"Frequently you are looking at six figure sums," he added.

"If we think someone has got a good case we will take it on and we usually find we can run it at no cost to them."