An update of cancer mortality among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, northern Italy

Our plain-English summary of An update of cancer mortality among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, northern Italy, by R. Calisti, P. De Giuli, G.L. Ghione (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1992).

The study

• Authors: R. Calisti, P. De Giuli, G.L. Ghione
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1992;49(2):144
• Type of article: Case report, Comment, Letter
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004124).

Summary of the article

This letter responded to an update by Piolatto et al on cancer mortality among chrysotile miners at Balangero, northern Italy, and reported a further case of pleural mesothelioma in a former Balangero worker. The man, born in 1921, was admitted to a chest hospital near Turin in August 1989 with rapidly increasing breathlessness. Bloody pleural fluid contained large atypical cells, and thoracoscopy showed whitish masses on the right pleura. A biopsy led to a diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma being considered. He died in May 1990, and no necropsy was performed. A later review of the biopsy using immunocytochemistry (positive for vimentin, cytokeratin and EMA) confirmed the mesothelial nature of the lesion. His work documents showed that he worked at Balangero from 1936 to 1944, apart from about 15 months of military service. His jobs there included supplying drinking water to miners, sweeping dust after blasts, dry rock drilling and handling milled fibre, all in very dusty areas. He had also lived near Balangero until 1944 and recalled white dust from the mine and mill covering his house. The authors considered that he was substantially exposed only to chrysotile, although amphibole exposure could not be entirely ruled out. About 50 years passed between first exposure and clinical presentation. Because he was not included in the existing Balangero cohort, the authors suggested extending the cohort to workers employed before 1946 and lengthening follow up.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This letter to the editor described one man, born in 1921, who had worked at the Balangero chrysotile asbestos mine in northern Italy and developed pleural mesothelioma. A biopsy taken after his hospital admission in August 1989 showed atypical cells of mesothelial appearance. A later review of that biopsy, the authors wrote, confirmed the cells were mesothelial. He died on 2 May 1990, and no autopsy was done. Work documents showed he worked at Balangero from 1936 to 1944, apart from about 15 months of military service. His jobs included sweeping dust after blasts, drilling, and handling milled fibre. He also lived near the mine until 1944 and recalled white powder settling around his house. The authors considered him substantially exposed only to chrysotile, though they said amphibole exposure could not be entirely ruled out. About 50 years passed between first exposure and illness. Because he was not part of the earlier Balangero cohort study, the authors suggested extending it to workers employed before 1946 and following them for longer.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Letter to the editor reporting a single case (case report)
• Who was studied: One man (NSR), born in 1921, who worked at the Balangero chrysotile mine and mill in northern Italy from 4 July 1936 to 26 April 1944, with about 15 months out for military service. He was treated at San Luigi Gonzaga chest hospital, Orbassano, Turin, from August 1989 and died on 2 May 1990.
• Exposure: Chrysotile exposure from mining and first processing of the mineral. His jobs were supplying drinking water to miners, sweeping gravel and dust after blasts, auxiliary building work on the mill, dry pneumatic drilling, and riddling and mixing milled fibres. He also had residential exposure near Balangero until 1944. Amphibole exposure (urban pollution in Turin, possible handling of asbestos cement during mill construction) could not be entirely ruled out.
• Main results:
  • A thoracoscopic biopsy of a right diaphragmatic pleural mass showed atypical cells of mesothelial appearance, and a diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma was considered
  • A later review of the only available biopsy found the atypical cells positive for vimentin and cytokeratin with membrane positivity for EMA, which the authors said confirmed their mesothelial nature
  • An ascitic (abdominal) effusion later appeared, and a sample of this fluid also showed atypical cells
  • While living near Balangero, he recalled frequent deposits of white powder from the mine and mill around his house
  • About 50 years elapsed between the start of asbestos exposure and clinical presentation of mesothelioma
  • He was not included in the cohort of Balangero miners and millers studied by Rubino et al and Piolatto et al
• The authors' conclusion: The authors considered the case of some epidemiological relevance because he was substantially exposed only to chrysotile. They suggested that extending the cohort study to include workers employed before 1946, and extending the follow-up period, would be useful.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No autopsy was carried out
  • Exposure to amphiboles could not be entirely ruled out

Mines named here

Asbestos mines this study is about. Each mine's page says who ran it, when it worked, and what it produced.

• Balangero mine, Balangero, about 20 km north of Turin, Piedmont

All asbestos mines

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Chrysotile, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile, Pleural Mesothelioma, Thoracoscopy, Pleura, Biopsy, Autopsy, Amphibole Group.

Related studies

• An update of cancer mortality among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, northern Italy — G. Piolatto, E. Negri, et al. (1990)
• Mortality and mesothelioma incidence among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, Italy: A cohort study — D. Ferrante, D. Mirabelli, et al. (2020)
• Mortality from cancer and other causes in the Balangero cohort of chrysotile asbestos miners — E. Pira, C. Pelucchi, et al. (2009)
• Re Ferrante et al (2020). Mortality and mesothelioma incidence among chrysotile asbestos miners in Balangero, Italy: A cohort study — J. Schüz, H. Kromhout (2020)
• Mortality of Talc Miners and Millers From Val Chisone, Northern Italy: An Updated Cohort Study — E. Pira, M. Coggiola, et al. (2017)
• An update of a mortality study of talc miners and millers in Italy — M. Coggiola, D. Bosio, et al. (2003)

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