Malignant mesothelioma in Rome and Latium region, 1993-2001

Our plain-English summary of Malignant mesothelioma in Rome and Latium region, 1993-2001, by V. Ascoli, S. Belli, C. Carnovale-Scalzo, et al (Tumori, 2003).

The study

• Authors: V. Ascoli, S. Belli, C. Carnovale-Scalzo, F. Corzani, F. Facciolo, M. Lopergolo, F. Nardi, R. Pasetto, P. Comba
• Journal: Tumori
• Published: 2003;89(4):377-81
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Aims And Background: Epidemiological studies on malignant mesothelioma have provided evidence on the etiologic role of occupational asbestos exposure and, to some extent, domestic and residential exposures. Less attention has been given to the occurrence of mesothelioma in urban areas where large quantities of asbestos have been employed in the past. The purpose of the study was to investigate the occurrence of mesothelioma in patients living in the urban area of Rome and in other parts of the Latium Region and the patterns of asbestos exposure.

Methods And Study Design: A pathology-based, malignant mesothelioma archive operating in Rome, Italy, was the source of cases. Included in the survey were cases resident in Latium and diagnosed in the period January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2001. Information on asbestos exposure was derived from interviews to the patient or his/her next of kin and from available medical records.

Results: The case series included: 114 males and 53 females; total, 167. Information on asbestos exposure was available for 138 cases (83%). Occupational exposure was ascertained or suspected for 33% of cases resident in Rome and 63% of those resident in other municipalities of Latium. Sex ratio was 1.6 in Rome and 3.3 in Latium.

Conclusions: The high prevalence of women among mesothelioma cases and lower proportion of occupational exposure in Rome versus the other municipalities of Latium suggest a possible role of environmental asbestos exposure in the urban area.

In plain English

This study described 167 people with malignant mesothelioma (114 men and 53 women) who lived in the Latium region of Italy and were diagnosed from 1993 through 2001. The cases came from a pathology-based mesothelioma archive at La Sapienza University in Rome. Past asbestos exposure was estimated from medical records or from interviews with patients or their next of kin. Of the cases, 94 lived in the city of Rome and 73 elsewhere in Latium. Most tumors (145) began in the pleura and 15 in the peritoneum. Occupational exposure, rated certain, probable or possible, was found for 33% of Rome residents and 63% of residents of other Latium municipalities. Construction work was the most frequently reported occupation. The ratio of men to women was 1.6 in Rome and 3.3 elsewhere in Latium. The authors concluded that these patterns raised the hypothesis of a possible role of asbestos exposure in the urban setting of Rome. They stated that the series could not be used to estimate incidence rates and that asbestos exposure may have been underestimated.

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: Case series drawn from a pathology-based malignant mesothelioma archive, with asbestos exposure classified from records and interviews
• Who was studied: 167 malignant mesothelioma cases (114 men, 53 women) resident in the Latium Region, Italy, diagnosed January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2001; 94 lived in the city of Rome and 73 in other municipalities of Latium. Age at diagnosis ranged from 22 to 87 years (mean 61.2).
• Exposure: Past asbestos exposure, fiber type not assessed. Exposure was estimated from medical records or a standard questionnaire given to the patient or next of kin. It was classified using National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM) criteria as occupational (certain, probable or possible), domestic, environmental, hobby-related, unlikely, unknown, pending or unclassifiable. Occupational and unknown cases were grouped by economic sector.
• Main results:
  • Occupational exposure (certain, probable or possible) was found for 31 of 94 Rome residents (33%) and 46 of 73 residents of other Latium municipalities (63%).
  • Unknown exposure was reported in the text as 47% for Rome residents versus 15% for Latium residents outside Rome. Table 1 lists 41 of 94 (43.6%) and 11 of 73 (15.1%).
  • Male-to-female ratio for all mesothelioma sites was 1.6 in Rome (95% CI 1.22-2.08) and 3.3 in other Latium municipalities (95% CI 2.49-4.28). For pleural mesothelioma only, it was 1.4 in Rome and 3.8 in the rest of Latium.
  • Of the 167 tumors, 145 (87%) arose in the pleura and 15 (9%) in the peritoneum. The pleural-to-peritoneal ratio was 7.7 (95% CI 5.9-9.9) among residents outside Rome and 11.9 (95% CI 9.4-14.7) among Rome residents.
  • Construction work was the most frequently reported occupation. Construction and insulation work accounted for 11 of 31 occupationally exposed Rome cases and 10 of 46 in the rest of Latium.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the higher proportion of women and the lower proportion of occupational exposure among Rome cases raise the hypothesis of a possible role of asbestos exposure in the urban setting of Rome. They said this can at the moment only be suggested.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The case series cannot be used to estimate mesothelioma incidence in Latium, because complete case detection was not verified.
  • The methods for collecting exposure information had relatively low sensitivity, so asbestos exposure may have been underestimated.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Pathology, Occupational Exposure.

Related studies

• Malignant mesothelioma in Rome, Italy 1980-1995. A retrospective study of 79 patients — V. Ascoli, C.C. Scalzo, et al. (1996)
• Asbestos containing materials in schools of Rome and surrounding area (Italy) — A. Campopiano, A. Cannizzaro, et al. (2021)
• Incidence of pleural mesothelioma in Liguria Region, Italy (1996-2002) — V. Gennaro, D. Ugolini, et al. (2005)
• Past trends and future prediction of mesothelioma incidence in an industrialized area of Italy, the Veneto Region — P. Girardi, V. Bressan, et al. (2014)
• Mineral particles in the lungs of subjects resident in the Rome area and not occupationally exposed to mineral dust — L. Paoletti, D. Batisti, et al. (1987)
• Incidence of malignant mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy — L. Mangone, C. Storchi, et al. (2022)

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