Cholangiocarcinoma and Occupational Exposure to Asbestos: Insights From the Italian Pooled Cohort Study.

Background: Recent studies supported the association between occupational exposure to asbestos and risk of cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Aim of the present study is to investigate this association using an update of mortality data from the Italian pooled asbestos cohort study and to test record linkage to Cancer Registries to distinguish between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic/extrahepatic forms of CC.

Methods: The update of a large cohort study pooling 52 Italian industrial cohorts of workers formerly exposed to asbestos was carried out.

Key Factors and AI-Based Risk Prediction of Malnutrition in Hospitalized Older Women.

The numerous consequences caused by malnutrition in hospitalized patients can worsen their quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition on the elderly population, especially focusing on women, identify key factors and develop a malnutrition risk predictive model. The study group consisted of 493 older women admitted to the Asunción Klinika Hospital in the Basque Region (Spain).

Liquid Biopsies from Pleural Effusions and Plasma from Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Feasibility Study.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a fatal tumor with a poor prognosis. The recent developments of liquid biopsies could provide novel diagnostic and prognostic tools in oncology. However, there is limited information about the feasibility of this technique for MPMs.

Clinical application of micronucleus test in exfoliated buccal cells: A systematic review and metanalysis.

The micronucleus assay in uncultured exfoliated buccal mucosa cells, involving minimally invasive sampling, was successfully applied to evaluate inhalation and local exposure to genotoxic agents, impact of nutrition and lifestyle factors. The potential use of the assay in clinics to monitor the development of local oral lesions and as an early biomarker for tumors and different chronic disorders was also investigated. A systematic review of the literature was carried out focusing on the clinical application of the assay.

CREST biorepository for translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory tract diseases: Informatics infrastructure and standardized annotation.

Advances in molecular epidemiology and translational research have led to the need for biospecimen collection. The Cancer of the Respiratory Tract (CREST) biorepository is concerned with pleural malignant mesothelioma (MM) and lung cancer (LC). The biorepository staff has collected demographic and epidemiological data directly from consenting subjects using a structured questionnaire, in agreement with The Public Population Project in Genomics (P(3)G).

The HUman MicroNucleus project on eXfoLiated buccal cells (HUMN(XL)): the role of life-style, host factors, occupational exposures, health status, and assay protocol.

The human buccal micronucleus cytome assay (BMCyt) is one of the most widely used techniques to measure genetic damage in human population studies. Reducing protocol variability, assessing the role of confounders, and estimating a range of reference values are research priorities that will be addressed by the HUMN(XL) collaborative study. The HUMN(XL) project evaluates the impact of host factors, occupation, life-style, disease status, and protocol features on the occurrence of MN in exfoliated buccal cells.

The CREST biorepository: a tool for molecular epidemiology and translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other respiratory tract diseases.

Objectives: The Cancer of RESpiratory Tract (CREST) biorepository was established to investigate biological mechanisms and to develop tools and strategies for primary and secondary prevention of respiratory tract cancer. The CREST biorepository is focused on pleural malignant mesothelioma, a rare and severe cancer linked to asbestos exposure whose incidence is particularly high in the Ligurian region.

Methods: The CREST biorepository includes biological specimens from (a) patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer, (b) patients with nonneoplastic respiratory conditions, and (c) control subjects.

An increased micronucleus frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes predicts the risk of cancer in humans.

The frequency of micronuclei (MN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) is extensively used as a biomarker of chromosomal damage and genome stability in human populations. Much theoretical evidence has been accumulated supporting the causal role of MN induction in cancer development, although prospective cohort studies are needed to validate MN as a cancer risk biomarker. A total of 6718 subjects from of 10 countries, screened in 20 laboratories for MN frequency between 1980 and 2002 in ad hoc studies or routine cytogenetic surveillance, were selected from the database of the HUman MicroNucleus (HUMN) international collaborative project and followed up for cancer incidence or mortality.

Micronuclei frequency in children exposed to environmental mutagens: a review.

Cytogenetic monitoring has been traditionally used for the surveillance of populations exposed to genotoxic agents. In recent years sensitivity problems emerged in surveys of populations exposed to low levels of mutagens, and therefore alternative approaches have been explored. Biomonitoring studies in children are a promising field, since because of evident differences in the uptake, metabolism, distribution and excretion of mutagens this population seems to be more susceptible than adults.

Effect of smoking habit on the frequency of micronuclei in human lymphocytes: results from the Human MicroNucleus project.

The effect of tobacco smoking on the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in human lymphocytes has been the object of many population studies. In most reports, the results were unexpectedly negative, and in many instances smokers had lower frequencies of MN than non-smokers. A pooled re-analysis of 24 databases from the HUMN international collaborative project has been performed with the aim of understanding the impact of smoking habits on MN frequency.

Intra- and inter-laboratory variation in the scoring of micronuclei and nucleoplasmic bridges in binucleated human lymphocytes. Results of an international slide-scoring exercise by the HUMN project.

One of the objectives of the HUman MicroNucleus (HUMN) project is to identify the methodological variables that have an important impact on micronucleus (MN) or micronucleated (MNed) cell frequencies measured in human lymphocytes using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. In a previous study we had shown that the scoring criteria used were likely to be an important variable. To determine the extent of residual variation when laboratories scored cells from the same cultures using the same set of standard scoring criteria, an inter-laboratory slide-scoring exercise was performed among 34 laboratories from 21 countries with a total of 51 slide scorers involved.

HUman MicroNucleus project: international database comparison for results with the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in human lymphocytes: I. Effect of laboratory protocol, scoring criteria, and host factors on the frequency of micronuclei.

Micronucleus (MN) expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes is well established as a standard method for monitoring chromosome damage in human populations. The first results of an analysis of pooled data from laboratories using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay and participating in the HUMN (HUman MicroNucleus project) international collaborative study are presented. The effects of laboratory protocol, scoring criteria, and host factors on baseline micronucleated binucleate cell (MNC) frequency are evaluated, and a reference range of "normal" values against which future studies may be compared is provided.

Chromosomal damage and ageing: effect on micronuclei frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Background: Instability in the organization and expression of the genetic material has been hypothesized as the basic mechanism of ageing.

Objective: To quantify the effect of ageing on chromosomal damage as measured by spontaneous micronuclei (MN) frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Method: Analysis of a large population sample from two laboratories applying the cytokinesis-block technique and a third using traditional interphase analysis.

Cancer predictive value of cytogenetic markers used in occupational health surveillance programs: a report from an ongoing study by the European Study Group on Cytogenetic Biomarkers and Health.

The cytogenetic endpoints in peripheral blood lymphocytes: chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclei (MN) are established biomarkers of exposure for mutagens or carcinogens in the work environment. However, it is not clear whether these biomarkers also may serve as biomarkers for genotoxic effects which will result in an enhanced cancer risk. In order to assess this problem, Nordic and Italian cohorts were established, and preliminary results from these two studies indicated a predictive value of CA frequency for cancer risk, whereas no such associations were observed for SCE or MN.

[Biomarkers of cytogenetic damage in humans and risk of cancer. The European Study Group on Cytogenetic Biomarkers and Health (ESCH)].

Cytogenetic assays in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) have been used extensively in the last decades to survey human exposure to genotoxic agents. The conceptual basis for this approach has been the hypothesis that the extent of genetic damage in PBL reflects critical events for carcinogenic processes in target tissues. The predictive value of these tests for subsequent cancer risk has been recently evaluated by two cohort studies of cancer mortality and incidence carried out in Italy and in five North European countries.

Adult acute upper respiratory tract infections in Sicily: pattern of antibiotic drug prescription in primary care.

We performed an observational study of the antibiotic-prescribing behaviour of Sicilian general practitioners (GPs) in managing acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Seventy-six GPs from 25 towns, representing a patient population of 96,630, participated in the study between September 1995 and May 1996. These physicians issued 2038 antibiotic treatment courses for acute upper respiratory tract infections: 792 for acute pharyngitis, 531 for acute tonsillitis, 304 for acute laryngitis and tracheitis, 268 for suppurative and non-suppurative acute otitis media, 124 for acute sinusitis and 19 for acute rhinitis.

Age-related increase of baseline frequencies of sister chromatid exchanges, chromosome aberrations, and micronuclei in human lymphocytes.

Intra- and interindividual variations of baseline frequencies of cytogenetic end points in lymphocytes of human populations have been reported by various authors. Personal characteristics seem to account for a significant proportion of this variability. Several studies investigating the role of age as a confounding factor in cytogenetic biomonitoring found an age-related increase of micronucleus (MN) frequency, whereas contradictory results were reported for chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs).

Chromosome aberrations in hospital workers: evidence from surveillance studies in Italy (1963-1993).

Hospital workers are occupationally exposed to various agents known or suspected to induce chromosome damage, the most studied being ionizing radiation. To determine the extent of chromosome damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes in this population, taking into account temporal changes and job titles, a re-analysis of cytogenetic studies performed in four Italian laboratories in the period 1965-1993 was carried out. A total of 871 hospital workers and 617 controls, mainly coming from ad hoc studies or surveillance programs in occupational groups potentially exposed to ionizing radiation, were examined.

Influence of sex on cytogenetic end points: evidence from a large human sample and review of the literature.

The planning and evaluation of human cytogenetic studies should contemplate various confounders and effect modifiers, among these, sex and sex-related factors. The association between this variable and cytogenetic damage has been extensively studied, but conclusive evidence has thus far not been reached, especially for the most recent assays, such as the micronucleus test (MN). In the attempt to quantitatively estimate the sex effect on sister chromatid exchange (SCE), chromosomal aberration (CA), and MN in peripheral blood lymphocytes, we reanalyzed the original data sets of several biomonitoring studies performed over the last decades in 10 Italian laboratories.

Are chromosome aberrations in circulating lymphocytes predictive of future cancer onset in humans? Preliminary results of an Italian cohort study.

To investigate the existence of an association between the frequency of chromosome aberrations (CA) in non-target tissues and cancer risk, a historical cohort study was carried out in a group of 1455 subjects screened for CA over the last 20 years in Italy. Statistically significant increases in standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all cancers were found in subjects with medium and high levels of CA in peripheral blood lymphocytes (SMR = 178.5 and SMR = 182.