Urinary apparatus tumours and asbestos: the Ramazzini Institute caseload.

Many studies have drawn attention to the possible association between occupational exposure to asbestos and tumours of the urinary apparatus. Besides the main etiological agents recognised today--such as smoking, obesity and hypertension--experimental and epidemiological evidence converges on the view that tumours of the kidney and bladder are largely due to occupational exposure to industrial agents: these and their transformation products linger in the body and are eventually eliminated by those organs. That one such agent targeting the urinary system is asbestos has found confirmation in the discovery of asbestos fibres in the urine of populations at risk. We here present 23 cases of work exposure to asbestos in a range of exposure scenarios where the workers developed tumours of the kidney and bladder. The cases came to the attention of the Ramazzini Institute casually.

[Adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer at risk of carcinomatosis: preliminary experience of a single centre]. / Chemioipertermia intraperitoneale adiuvante in pazienti con carcinoma colorettale a rischio di carcinosi: esperienza preliminare di un singolo centro.

The treatment of patients at high risk of developing colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis is still debated since the absence of peritoneal disease synchronous with the primitive cancer makes the application of aggressive treatments less obvious. In this subset of patients hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), after the resection of the primitive cancer, may improve long-term survival. Over the period from December 2003 to June 2008 142 patients affected by different kinds of cancers underwent HIPEC in the surgical division of Bentivoglio Hospital, A.U.S.L. Bologna. In 13 patients HIPEC was combined only with the resection of the primitive cancer and no major cytoreductive surgery was performed. Nine of these 13 patients were affected by colorectal cancer and at high risk of developing carcinomatosis. The average surgical time was 420 min (range: 300-510). No intraoperative complications occurred, but 3 cases of postoperative morbidity were reported; only 1 of these was a major complication At an average follow-up of 22 months 1 patient with a liver metastasis died of complications unrelated to progression of the disease, 1 patient had a lymph node relapse and is currently on systemic chemotherapy, while the remaining 7 patients are alive and free from peritoneal disease.

Endodermal sinus tumor of the omentum: case report.

We report a case of primary endodermal sinus tumor of the omentum in a 46-year-old woman. The patient had been referred to our hospital for pain in the right abdomen. CT scan revealed a right-sided abdominal mass. At laparotomy, a large omental tumor extending to the bowel, uterus, ovaries and peritoneum was found, and it was totally resected. The tumor displayed the typical histological patterns observed in endodermal sinus tumor, and the immunohistochemical findings confirmed the diagnosis. Serum AFP level was 21.550 ng/ml prior to laparotomy, and decreased to 13.845 ng/mL after surgery, whereas the level of serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin was normal. Post-surgery, the patient received combination chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin every 3 weeks for a total of 6 cycles. At the end of the treatment, all the findings, including AFP level, were normal.

Mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos used in sugar refineries: report of two cases and review of the literature.

We report two cases of pleural mesothelioma occurring simultaneously in a sugar refinery worker exposed to asbestos fibers and his wife, who used to wash his working clothes for at least 22 years. A review of the literature is also presented. While demonstrating the carcinogenic risk of asbestos used in sugar refinery plants, our data and those of the literature in no way reflect the real dimension of the risk. Further research will be necessary to assess this risk.