Our study evaluates the association between prostate cancer and exposure to pesticides in agricultural settings in Italy. The data were derived from a hospital-based multi-site casecontrol study carried out in 5 rural areas between 1990 -92. In our study, 124 new cases of prostate cancer were ascertained and interviewed, along with 659 cancer controls. A team of agronomists assessed past exposure to pesticides by using a checklist of 100 chemical families and 217 compounds applied from 1950 -85 in the areas considered. The association between prostate cancer and different occupational risk factors was measured by maximum likelihood estimation of the odds ratio, controlling for potential confounders. "Ever been employed in agriculture" was associated with a 40% increased risk (OR ‫؍‬ 1.4, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 0.9 -2.0). Prostate cancer was also related positively to food and tobacco (OR‫؍‬ 2.1, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 1.1-4.1), and chemical products (OR ‫؍‬ 2.2, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 0.7-7.2) industries. The analyses carried out to estimate the association between different types of pesticides and prostate cancer showed increased risks among farmers exposed to organochlorine insecticides and acaricides (OR ‫؍‬ 2.5, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 1.4 -4.2), more specifically to the often contemporary used compounds DDT (OR ‫؍‬ 2.1, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 1.2-3.8), and dicofol (OR ‫؍‬ 2.8, 95% CI ‫؍‬ 1.5-5.0), whose effects could not be well separated.

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This is the first cluster randomized trial aiming to demonstrate that a structured modality of providing information reduces psychological distress. We did not find this, but we believe results should be interpreted cautiously, particularly because of the low compliance with PIS implementation. Context analysis preceding such interventions is essential.

The possible association in humans between nonangiosarcoma primary liver tumors (PLC-non-A), particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and exposure to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is supported by both experimental and human data. This article presents a review of the information regarding 253 deaths that occurred in seven plants manufacturing VCM/PVC and one plant extruding PVC. The retrieval of clinical and pathological data, in addition to the information from death certificate, is referred to as "best evidence" (BE). BE has been carried out for 63 deaths. A total of 14 primary liver cancer (PLC) were detected: seven were angiosarcoma (PLC-A), and two of the remaining seven were hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our series of 14 PLC cases, there was no significant difference between PLC-A and PLC-non-A as to length of exposure and latency. There was no noticeable difference in terms of job title between ASL and non-ASL cases. The list of longest held jobs shows the presence of various job titles, different from autoclave cleaner, for primary liver cancer, PLC-A and PLC-non-A. In conclusion, our observations show that VCM may have a broader carcinogenicity action on the liver and that exposure lower than that occurring in autoclave cleaning can cause primary liver cancer, both angiosarcoma and nonangiosarcoma.