Biphasic pleural mesothelioma in a electrician working in a railway company: case report and current trends in mesotheliomas in Italy
Published: February 20 2025
Abstract Views: 19
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Background: Mesothelioma is an aggressive tumour that can involve the pleura, the peritoneum, and sometimes other mesothelia, such as the pericardium and the tunica vaginalis testis. Scientific communities have known for a long time the causal correlation between exposure to asbestos (work related or not) and the onset of the disease (in 75% - 90% of cases) and the increasing number of asbestos-correlated mesotheliomas expected in the next years. Case presentation: The authors present the case of an electrician, 66-year-old man, died for pleural mesothelioma, working in Palermo in the company of the Italian Railways for a period of about 20 years, exposed to asbestos. Frequently he disassembled and reassembled the ceiling lights in the train carriages and worked in the same workplace where it was made the asbestos removal from train carriages. The autopsy showed a biphasic pleural mesothelioma, with mainly polymorphic desmoplasticsarcomatous aspects, infiltrating the lung parenchyma, with areas of septal fibrosis and multiple outbreaks of pneumonia and edema. Conclusions: It is fundamental to know workers' risks to formulate a correct etiopathogenetic diagnosis, as in this presented case, not apparently in connection with asbestos (electrician worker). Because of the long latency in the genesis of mesothelioma after asbestos exposure (both because of the work and environmental pollution), it is considered appropriate to increase in Italy the activities of the regional centres of the Health System dedicated to health promotion and health surveillance of the former exposed to asbestos, created and active, unfortunately, only in some regions of our Country.
Altmetrics
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Citations
1) Rubino GF, Scansetti G, Donna A, et al. Epidemiology of pleural mesothelioma in north western Italy (Piedmont) Br J Ind Med 1972; 29: 436-42.
2) Pisani RJ, Colby TV, Williams DE. Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. Mayo Clin Proc 1998; 63: 1234-1244.
3) Peto J, Decarli A, La Vecchia C, et al. The European mesotelioma epidemic. British Journal of Cancer 1999 Feb; 79(3-4): 666-72. 4) Comba P, Merler E, Pasetto R. Asbestos related diseases in Italy: epidemiologic evidences and public health issues. Int J Occup Environ Health 2005; 11: 36-44.
5) Marinaccio A, Montanaro F, Mastrantonio M, et al. Predictions of mortality from pleural mesothelioma in Italy: a model based on asbestos consumption figures supports results from age-periodcohort models. Int J Cancer 2005 May 20; 115(1): 142-7.
6) D'Agostin F, de Michieli P, Negro C. Pleural mesothelioma in household members of asbestos-exposed workers in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017; 30(3): 419-431. 7) Repubblica Italiana: Legge 27 marzo 1992, n. 257. Norme relative alla cessazione dell'impiego dell'amianto. Available online at: www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/1992/04/13/092G0295/sg 8) Parkin DM, Whelan SL, Ferlay J, et al. Cancer incidence in five continents. Vol. 7. Lyon: IARC, 1997.
9) Magnani C, Bianchi C, Chellini E, et al. III consensus conference italiana: Magnani C, et al. III Italian Consensus Conference on Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pleura. Epidemiology, Public Health and Occupational Medicine related issues. Med Lav 2015; 106(5): 325-32.
10) INAIL V Rapporto ReNaM: https: //www.inail.it/cs/internet/docs/ ucm_207055.pdf 11) Magnani C, Ancona L, Baldassarre A, et al. Time trend in mesothelioma and lung cancer risk in asbestos workers in Italy. Epidemiol Prev 2016; 40(1 Suppl 1): 64-7.
12) Ferrante D, Chellini E, Merler E, et al. Italian pool of asbestos workers cohorts: mortality trends of asbestos-related neoplasms after long time since first exposure. Occup Environ Med 2017 Dec; 74(12): 887-898.
13) Cotes J E, Steel J. Work-related lung disorders. Oxford: Blackwell Sci Publ, 1987.
14) Husain AN, Colby T, Ordonez N, et al. Guidelines for Pathologic diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. 2012 update of the Consensus statement from the International Mesothelioma Interst Group. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2012; 136: 1-21.
15) van Zandwijk N, Clarke C, Henderson D, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. J Thorac Dis 2013; 5: E254-E307.
16) Pinto C, Novello S, Torri V, et al. Second Italian Consensus Conterence on Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: State of the art and recommendations. Cancer Treat Rev 2013 Jun; 39(4): 328-39. 17) Battifora H, McHaughey WTE. Tumor of the serosal membranes. Atlas of tumor pathology, 3rd series. AFIP, Washinghton, DC. 1995. 18) Wagner JC, Sleggs CA, Marchand P. Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape Province. Br J Intern Med 1960; 17: 260-271.
19) Mesothelioma Center. Mesothelioma Statistics. Available online at: https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/statistics.php 20) Mesothelioma Center. Mesothelioma latency period. Available online at: https: //www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/latency-period/ 21) Méndez-Vargas MM, López-Rojas P, Campos-Pujal GA, et al. Pleural mesothelioma in paraoccupational, environmental and occupational patients exposed to asbestos. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2010 Jul-Aug; 48(4): 361-6.
22) International Agency for Research on Cancer - IARC Monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risks to humans. Volume 100c2012. Available on line at: http: //monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/ Monographs/vol100C/index.php 23) Kane MJ, Chahinian P, Holland JF. Malignant mesothelioma in young adults. Cancer 1990; 65: 1449-1455.
24) Dawson A, Gibbs A, Browne K, et al. Familial mesothelioma. Details of 17 cases with histopathologic findings and mineral analysis. Cancer 1992; 70: 1183-1187.
25) Crotty TB, Myers JL, Katzenstein AL, et al. Localized malignant mesothelioma. A clinicopathologic and flow cytometric study. Am J Surg Pathol 1994; 18: 357-363.
26) Samuels A. Mesothelioma and the law. Medico-Legal Journal 2015; 83(1): 26-28.
27) D'Agostin F, De Michieli P, Chermaz C, et al. Pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas in the Friuli Venezia Giulia register: data analysis from 1995 to 2015 in Northeastern Italy. J Thorac Dis 2017 Apr; 9(4): 1032-1045.
28) De Zotti R, Barbati G, Negro C. Autopsy findings and pleural plaques in the Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) Regional Register of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. Med Lav 2013 Jan-Feb; 104(1): 55-66. 29) Ratzer ER, Pool JL, Melamed MR. Pleural mesotheliomas. Clinical experiences with thirty-seven patients. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med 1967; 99: 863-880.
30) Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri 10 Dicembre 2002 n. 308: Regolamento per la determinazione del modello e delle modalità di tenuta del registro dei casi di mesotelioma asbesto correlati ai sensi dell'articolo 36, comma 3, del Decreto Legislativo n. 277 del 1991. Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, serie generale, del 07.02.2003.
31) INAIL: V Rapporto Registro Nazionale Mesoteliomi. Available online at: https: //www.inail.it/cs/internet/docs/ucm_207055.pdf 32) Maltoni C, Pinto C, Dominici R. Mesotheliomas among mechanics of the railways in Italy: a current problem. Med Lav 1989 Mar-Apr; 80(2): 103-10.
33) Maltoni C, Pinto C, Di Bisceglie M. Mesotelioma pleurico in operaio esposto ad asbesto in due attività lavorative: presso un cantiere navale di Venezia e presso l'Officina Grandi Riparazioni delle Ferrovie dello Stato di Mestre. Eur J Oncol 2000; 5(1): 53-60.
34) Tessari R, Canova C, Simonato L. Epidemiological investigation on the health status of employees in two factories manufacturing and repairing railway rolling stock: a historical perspective study of mortality. Med Lav 2004 Sep-Oct; 95(5): 381-91.
35) Marinaccio A, Binazzi A, Marzio DD, et al. Pleural malignant mesothelioma epidemic: incidence, modalities of asbestos exposure and occupations involved from the Italian National Register. Int J Cancer 2012 May 1; 130(9): 2146-54.
36) Forastiere F. Dipartimento di Epidemiologia, Regione Lazio Assistenza delle persone esposte ad amianto: sportelli informativi e sorveglianza epidemiologica CCM - 2012: Primi risultati Progetti Nazionali sull'Amianto "Presentazione dei risultati relativi alle linee progettuali 2012 finanziate dal Ministero della salute per la promozione delle azioni di interesse sanitario", 12 novembre 2015. Available online at: http://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_notizie_ 2456_listaFile_itemName_10_file.pdf 37) Barbieri PG, Somigliana A, Girelli R, et al. Pleural mesothelioma in a school teacher: asbestos exposure due to DAS paste. Med Lav 2016; 107(2): 141-7 38) Baldassarre A, Massaro T, Dragonieri S, et al. A case report: an university professor suffering from malignant mesothelioma. G Ital Med Lav Ergon 2012 Jul-Sep; 34(3 Suppl): 542-4.
39) Oddone E, Imbriani M. Pleural mesothelioma: Case-report of uncommon occupational asbestos exposure in a small furniture industry. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016; 29(3): 523-6. 40) Nemo A, Silvestri S. Mesothelioma in a wine cellar man: detailed description of working procedures and past asbestos exposure estimation. Ann Occup Hyg 2014; 58(9): 1168-74.
How to Cite
Biphasic pleural mesothelioma in a electrician working in a railway company: case report and current trends in mesotheliomas in Italy. (2025). Giornale Italiano Di Medicina Del Lavoro Ed Ergonomia, 40(2), 61-66. https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.533
Copyright (c) 2018 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Rudy Foddis, Giulia Ficini, Alfonso Cristaudo, Alessandra Pistelli, Annalaura Carducci, Elisa Caponi, Rita Biancheri, Antonella Ninci, Chiara Breschi, Andrea Cristaudo, Antonella Basso, Roberta Bonfiglioli, Francesca Larese Filon, Silvia Simonini, Giovanna Spatari, Paola Tomao, Maria Gabriella Verso, Maria Luisa Scapellato, [Risk assessment and health surveillance from a gender perspective: proposal for operational tools] , Giornale Italiano di Medicina del Lavoro ed Ergonomia: Vol. 39 No. 3 (2017)
- Maria Luisa Scapellato, Antonella Basso, Roberta Bonfiglioli, Rudy Foddis, Francesca Larese Filon, Silvia Simonini, Giovanna Spatari, Paola Tomao, Maria Gabriella Verso, [Health and work from a gender perspective] , Giornale Italiano di Medicina del Lavoro ed Ergonomia: Vol. 39 No. 3 (2017)