[Tumor mortality in a cohort of glass industry workers].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Crosignani.
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Rectal temperatures were measured automatically every 10 min for part or most of two menstrual cycles in ten clinically healthy young women, 20-30 years of age, with a wearable instrument, the Polychronor. Occasional malfunction of the instrumentation resulted in corresponding gaps in the series. Data were examined by chronograms, plexograms, and chronobiologic serial sections computed with the fit of a 24-hr period, population-mean cosinor, and linear-nonlinear least-squares analyses. Single cosinor-derived circadian parameters were next fitted with a cosine curve of a period equal to the number of days of the corresponding intermenstruum. Second-order infradian inferential statistics were calculated next; the first day of menstruation was used as acrophase reference. A population-mean cosinor at the intermenstrual period yields a temperature acrophase of -279 degrees, with the 95% confidence interval extending from -254 degrees to -312 degrees. Since the intermenstruum differs in different subjects and/or in different menstrual cycles of a given woman, this acrophase corresponds to different time intervals from the first day of menstruation in different cases. This acrophase thus indicates the relative timing within the menstrual cycle of overall high rectal temperatures. On four subjects in four stages of their menstrual cycle, plasma was also obtained at 2-hr intervals around the clock. Ten hormones were determined. The sparse endocrine sampling along the menstrual cycle notwithstanding, a circatrigintan rhythm in all hormones investigated was demonstrated for a woman 26 years of age. At the period corresponding to the intermenstrual interval, the acrophases for T3, cortisol, FSH, testosterone, DHEA-S, T4, and LH occurred before the circatrigintan rectal temperature acrophase, whereas the acrophases for prolactin, estradiol, and progesterone occurred near or shortly after the rectal temperature acrophase. Whereas earlier circatrigintan mapping of adult women had been summarized on a group basis, this study allows individualized circatrigintan rhythm assessment. Circatrigintan, like circadian and circannual, acrophase and amplitude relations do not necessarily imply causal relations, yet they are an indispensable quantitative reference standard for the study of basic mechanisms and for diagnosis and intervention, including endeavors in planned parenthood that might take into account the organism's dynamics with multiple frequencies.
A total of 417 lung cancer cases and 849 controls were interviewed on their life-long tobacco usage and their current intake of four food items rich in retinol or carotene. The study was a hospital-based case control where 'cases' were lung cancer patients diagnosed during the period 1979/80 at seven hospitals in the Lombardy region (90% pathologically confirmed) and controls were patients admitted to the same hospitals for causes unrelated to tobacco smoking (epithelial cancers being excluded from present analysis). Odds ratios (OR) have been computed for increasing frequencies of consumption of liver, cheese, carrots and leafy green vegetables, having controlled for the confounding effects of tobacco usage, residence and birthplace. Current smokers who did not consume carrots showed a three-fold risk of developing lung cancer compared with those who ate them more than once a week (OR = 2.9 less than p less than 0.01); the ORs for consumers in the categories of 1-2 and 3-4 times per month were 1.8 and 2.0 respectively, with a significant test for linear trend (p less than 0.01). Among ex-smokers or non-smokers, no decrease of lung cancer risk is evident associated with carrot consumption. An excess risk was also associated with low intake of green vegetables although it was not significant, while no excess risk was evident for non-consumers of liver and cheese. The effect of carrots is independent of histological type of lung cancer while the effect of green vegetables was confined to epidermoid carcinomas: low versus high intake group OR = 1.3.
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We attempted to relate admission rate for acute myocardial infarction with some meteorological variables in a region having a temperate climate. We used 2830 consecutive episodes collected over a 2-year (1979-1980) period. The temperatures, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, front passage, rain and snow and foehn wind have been associated in the past with acute myocardial infarction. No significant association with any of them was found in our study, nor any correlation over the time between admission rates in six different Coronary Care Units (at the time the only ones active in the area) which participated in the study.
The proportions of male lung cancers due to occupational exposure and, respectively, to cigarette smoking in a highly industrialized area of Northern Italy were estimated in a population-based case-control study in 1976-9. Two hundred and four out of the 211 lung cancer cases and 351 controls sampled from the source population were questioned about their occupational and smoking histories. On the basis of the occupational history each subject was classified as probably exposed (+), possibly exposed (?), or unexposed (-) to one or more of the chemicals known to be carcinogenic for the human lung, namely asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, arsenic, nickel and chromium compounds, BCME, CMME and vinyl chloride. Upon stratification by cigarette smoking, contrasting the occupationally exposed subjects, whether certainly or uncertainly defined, with the unexposed ones, the RR for lung cancer was 2.1 and the occupational etiologic fraction was 0.33 (95% confidence interval 0.19-0.47). The tobacco etiologic fraction was 0.81, while the two exposures together accounted for 89% of the total burden of incident cases. If 33% of all male lung cancers were of occupational aetiology, then this alone would represent 5% of all cancer deaths.
The ovarian cancer risk from herbicide exposure has been studied in a hospital-based, case-control study after some of these compounds have been shown to be carcinogenic for animals. This study includes 60 cases of primary mesothelial ovarian tumors and 127 controls with non-ovarian malignancies drawn from the same file and matched by year of diagnosis, age and residence. A positive association (relative risk 4.38) has been found between herbicide exposure and ovarian mesotheliomas.
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At a thermoelectric power plant in Turbigo (Milan, Italy), an analysis of the technological process has shown the presence of exposure to several carcinogens: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, asbestos, hydrazine, polychlorinated biphenyls, chromium, nickel, and beryllium. An epidemiologic study was carried out to quantify the effect of the detected exposures on the workers, and the cancer mortality of the cohort was compared with the corresponding rates from the closest town and with cancer register data from a nearby province. Excess mortality was found for workers with 10 or more years of employment; the median latency time was about 20 years.
The modality of lung cancer treatment was retrospectively evaluated in an unselected population. All the lung cancer cases diagnosed among the residents in a Local Sanitary Unit of Lombardy during four years (1974-1979), were identified. The clinical records of the 235 collected patients were reviewed and on this basis the anatomical extent of disease was retrospectively classified in stages according to the TNM of UICC (1978). The relative frequency of clinical stages resulted 29% for stage I, 17% II, 20% III and 32% IV. Only 57% of all the subjects had been treated; 11% by resection, 22% by radiotherapy and 24% by chemotherapy. For the stages I and II the operability rates were 35% and 26% respectively, while the resectability rates were 29% and 17%. An objective reason of exclusion from surgery was found in no more than a quarter of stage I and II lung cancers, while the remaining (40%) had probably been excluded from exploration owing to a subjective prognostic evaluation. If compared with similar reports from other countries, these data show a striking defect in the choice of curative treatment for a high proportion of the examined cases.
AIMS AND BACKGROUND: To evaluate the role of exposure to low-frequency electromagnetic fields generated by overhead power lines on the risk of childhood leukemia, we carried out a case-control study in the area (Varese province) covered by the Lombardy Cancer Registry. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Exposure to magnetic fields was estimated using line load data and the distance between subjects' homes and the nearest power line. A total of 101 cases and 412 controls were investigated. RESULTS: Twenty subjects (9 cases and 11 controls) were considered exposed. A significant fourfold increase in risk for leukemia in exposed subjects and a dose-response relationship were found. The risk was higher than that reported by other studies. Potential biases related to the representativity of controls and validity of exposure assessment do not seem to have influenced the risk estimates. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that measures to remedy residential exposure should be taken wherever practicable.
AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The paper examines the determinants associated with second primary occurrence in laryngeal cancer cases. METHODS: A series of 220 incident male laryngeal cancer cases was interviewed 10 years ago within the framework of a population-based, case-control study. The occurrence of other primaries among these patients was assessed by means of the Lombardy Cancer Registry, which covers their area of residence. The relationship between tobacco, alcohol, dietary factors and the risk of occurrence of new primaries was analyzed by means of a nested case-control study. Cases were defined as those subjects who developed a new primary, and controls as those without. RESULTS: New primaries occurred among 36 subjects during an 8-year follow-up; 147 control cancer patients were matched for age and length of follow-up. A twofold risk increase was associated with the highest tobacco consumption, as registered at time of first primary; a weaker relationship, i.e. risk of 1.2 for the highest tertile, was seen for alcohol drinking. The occurrence of new primaries was also influenced by dietary habits. In particular, those who had a high intake of monosaturated fatty acids had a one-third lower risk of developing a new primary. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that a healthy diet is protective among those who experience a laryngeal neoplasm and suggests that diet could be a potential preventive agent against the occurrence of new primaries among these patients.
AIM: To present data on cancer prevalence for the areas covered by Italian cancer registries, by using a standardized set of data collection and elaboration criteria, and a single method of data analysis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data on over 250,000 patients with cancer, diagnosed between 1978 and 1992, from 11 Italian cancer registries covering about 12% of the Italian population were collected, validated and analyzed according to the unified protocol of the ITAPREVAL project. The method implemented in the PREVAL computer program was used to provide prevalence estimates for the period covered by cancer registration. The total prevalence for each registry and for the pool of all registries was then estimated by correcting for incomplete observations due to the period in which the registration was not yet activated. All prevalence estimates were for 1992. RESULTS: Prevalence figures are presented by cancer site, age, sex, years from diagnosis and registry area. For all malignancies combined, total prevalence ranged from 1,350 per 100,000 inhabitants in Ragusa to 3,650 per 100,000 inhabitants in Romagna, the ratio between these two extremes being 2.7. For the pool of the areas covered by registration cancer prevalence was 3,100 per 100,000 females and 2,250 per 100,000 males. About a third of the total female cases and about half the male cases were diagnosed in the previous five years. Among those aged over 75 years, total prevalence was higher for males than for females: 11,300 versus 8,900 per 100,000 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first large-scale estimate of the burden of cancer in Italy. It is also one of the first studies in the world which was aimed to study cancer prevalence in detail. These data are necessary for predicting health service needs and help in the evaluation of differences in health service demand by sex, age and Italian regions.
AIMS AND BACKGROUND: To describe the cancer prevalence in elderly Italian people and analyze the differences, if any, with the prevalence among younger subjects. METHODS & STUDY DESIGN: The cancer prevalence among elderly patients (65 years and over), the three age classes encompassing elderly age (65-74 years, 75-84 years, 85 years and over) and younger patients (0-64 years) was computed using the PREVAL method on the basis of the incident cases over the period 1976-1992 followed up to 31 December 1992 (prevalence reference date). Data were collected by 11 Italian cancer registries. RESULTS: The observed prevalence figures for all cancers (except skin epitheliomas), both sexes combined and considering the whole elderly group, were 1,090 and 3,601 cases per 100,000 one and five years since diagnosis, respectively; the prevalence increased up to the 75-84 age group and showed a slight decrease after age 85. With regard to specific cancer sites, in men bladder and prostate had the highest prevalence 5 years from diagnosis (more than 800 cases per 100,000), followed by colon and lung (about 500 cases per 100,000) stomach and rectum (about 300 cases per 100,000); in women breast cancer ranked first (more than 1,000 cases per 100,000), followed by colon (about 350 cases per 100,000), corpus uteri, stomach and rectum cancers (between 150 and 200 cases per 100,000). For all malignancies and the two sexes combined the prevalence figures were about six times higher in the older than in the younger age group. CONCLUSIONS: These figures confirm the important role of aging in determining the increase in cancer prevalence. The resulting prevalence figures clearly indicate the cancer burden placed on health care services; moreover, the figures will probably increase in the next decades due to a possible improvement in survival and to the dramatic aging of the population, assuming a stable trend for incidence rates. This picture will represent a major challenge for politicians and those dealing with health care planning and social policies in general, especially in the light of the reduction of the available financial resources and the specific features of medical and social needs in the elderly.
Frozen tumor sections and/or cytological smears and aspirates from 614 patients were studied utilizing the fluorescent estrogen binding technique of Lee. Survival analyses of the results indicated that women less than 55 years of age and with positive tumors had a statistically better disease-free interval and survived significantly longer than older patients. The method is thus an independent predictor of survival and disease-free interval in this subgroup of breast cancer patients.
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