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S Bonassi

Publications and source records attributed to S Bonassi.

61 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Frequency of micronuclei in lymphocytes from a group of floriculturists exposed to pesticides.

A large part of the commercial flower production in Italy is located in the located in the western part of the Liguria region, near the French border. The use of pesticides in this area has been much higher than the national average. The frequency of micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes was evaluated in a group of 71 floriculturists working in this area and in a control group of 75 healthy blood donors living in the same area. A significant increase of micronucleated lymphocytes was observed in floriculturists as compared to unexposed subjects (8.57 vs. 6.67, p < .05). Females showed a marked increase in MN frequency (45% higher than males) independently of the exposure. A dose-response relationship was observed between duration of exposure and MN frequency. The condition of exposure was also found to influence the micronuclei frequency. Increased relative risks in greenhouse workers (RR = 1.31) and in people working alternately in the greenhouse and in the open field (RR = 1.46) was observed with respect to the reference population.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictive value of some clinical and pathological parameters on upper level axillary lymph node involvement in breast cancer.

The role of radical axillary dissection in breast cancer management is presently under discussion. In this study we have evaluated the relationship between the pattern of metastatic axillary lymph node involvement by level and some of the main prognostic factors (age of the patient, size, grading, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status of the primary tumor) in 185 patients with operable breast cancer. The III level appeared to be involved in 31 (16.8%) out the 108 patients with axillary lymph nodes positive for metastases. A discontinuous pattern of axillary involvement (skip metastases) was observed in about 10% of cases. Logistic regression analysis of the data shows that only G3 is significantly correlated with the risk of III level invasion (p less than 0.05). We conclude that, at present, a selection of possible candidates for a less than radical axillary dissection is not as yet feasible. Since the risk for III level invasion cannot be sufficiently defined.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A multifactorial analysis of different biological and clinical parameters in breast cancer.

Different biological and clinical parameters were correlated in a consecutive series of breast cancer patients. Age, tumor size, hormonal receptor status, grading and lymph nodal status (N) were taken into account. A linear logistic regression analysis was performed for 83 patients in whom all parameters were known. Lymph nodal involvement was observed more frequently in tumors with a diameter larger than 2 cm (RR = 3.83; p less than 0.05); it was also more frequently observed in undifferentiated tumors (G2-3), although these data were not significant (RR = 2.75). Neither age nor hormonal receptors were related to lymph nodal involvement. A significant relationship between age and estrogen receptors (ER) was found: younger women had a greater frequency of ER negative tumors (RR = 8.81; p less than 0.005). An opposite tendency was found as regards progesterone receptor status (PgR) (RR = 0.20; p less than 0.05), although these data require further confirmation. No obvious correlation was found between tumor size and hormonal receptor content, although in younger patients tumor size seems to influence ER levels: tumors larger than 2 cm were 1.43 times more often ER negative than tumors smaller than 2 cm. There was no correlation between ER and grading, although G3 tumors were found to be ER negative more frequently than others (RR = 1.71; ns) and showed a tendency to be PgR negative (RR greater than 3). Finally, tumors with lower ER levels were more frequently PgR negative (RR = 11.89; p less than 0.001).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[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. In this paper we report the update of both cohorts. In the new follow-up, a total of 64 cancer deaths out of 2019 subjects in the Italian cohort and 127 new cases of cancer out of 3182 subjects in the Nordic cohort were observed. The cytogenetic endpoints studied were CA (chromosomal aberrations), SCE (sister chromatid exchanges) and MN (micronuclei). In order to take into account the interlaboratory variation of absolute values, the results were trichotomized within each laboratory into three strata: low (1-33 percentile), medium (34-66 percentile), or high (67-100 percentile). The association between chromosomal damage and cancer risk was evaluated through SMR (standardized mortality ratio) for Italy and SIR (standardized incidence ratio) for the Nordic countries. National mortality/incidence cancer rates (age, sex and calendar-year specific) were used as reference. A linear trend of SMRs and SIRs according to CA level was found in both cohorts for the "All Cancers" cause (p < 0.01). In the Italian cohort it was also possible to analyze some specific cancer sites: a significant increase of SMR among subjects with a high level of CA with respect to the general population was found for lung cancers and lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue cancers. Contrariwise, no association between cancer mortality/incidence and SCE or MN frequency was observed. Findings from this study support the existence of an association between CA frequency and cancer risk.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Micronucleus analysis in peripheral blood lymphocytes from melanoma patients treated with dacarbazine.

BACKGROUND: Dacarbazine is an antitumor drug used with considerable success in the chemotherapy of a number of human neoplasias, particularly advanced disseminated melanoma. Dacarbazine is mutagenic in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, but no effect in vivo have been evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with metastatic melanoma undergoing dacarbazine chemotherapy every 21 days for a total of 7 cycles, were analyzed for the presence of micronuclei with the CREST antikinetochore antibody technique. Cytogenetic analysis on blood samples collected just before and 2 hours after the therapy was carried out at 48, 72 and 96 hours following lymphocyte stimulation. RESULTS: A significant increase in micronucleus frequency was found at both 72 and 96 hours after therapy. For the only two patients analyzed after more than one cycle, a decrease in micronuclei was observed after the third and the fourth therapy. Moreover, the CREST antibody technique showed that the frequency of micronuclei containing whole chromosomes (CREST+) was significantly higher after therapy at 72 and 96 hours. As the frequency of micronuclei containing acentric chromosome fragments (CREST-) was not significantly increased after therapy, either at 72 or 96 hours after lymphocyte stimulation, we suppose that DTIC mainly acted as an aneugenic agent. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of a significant micronucleus increase at 48 hours could suggest that this culture time is too short for providing cultures with a sufficient large number of diving cells. In conclusion, our results have shown that dacarbazine induced chromosome loss in lymphocytes from patients treated with this drug.

Adult↗