Objectives-A hospital based case-control study was conducted between 1992 and 1993 in the province of Brescia, a highly industrialised area in northern Italy, to evaluate occupational risk factors ofbladder cancer. Methods-The study evaluated 355 histologically confirmed cases of bladder cancer (275 men, 80 women) and 579 controls affected by urological non-neoplastic diseases (397 men, 182 women). Lifetime occupational history, smoking and drinking habits, and sociodemographic characteristics were recorded by means of a structured questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed with adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol and coffee consumption, education, and place of residence.Results-A significant (P < 0.05) increase of risk of bladder cancer was found in men for labourers in the construction industry (OR 2-1, 95% confidence interval (95% CI)1.1-3-9) and for recreational and cultural services (OR 5 0, 95% CI

The association between tobacco smoking, the consumption of coffee and alcohol and bladder cancer was investigated in a hospital-based case-control study in Brescia, northern Italy. A total of 172 incident cases (135 men and 37 women) and 578 controls (398 men and 180 women) were enrolled. As expected, cigarette smoking was strongly associated with bladder cancer. The odds ratios (OR) for coffee drinking adjusted for age, education, residence and cigarette smoking in current drinkers were 2.6 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.1-6.1) in men and 5.2 (95% CI: 1.0-30.4) in women. A dose-response relationship was found in men, with the highest risk in the highest category of exposure: drinkers of more than 5 cups per day had an OR of 4.5 (95% CI: 1.2-16.8). The ORs for current alcohol drinkers were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.0-4.8) in men and 3.4 (95% CI: 1.2-9.7) in women; according to grams of ethanol drunk per day (grams/day, g/d) the ORs were: 1.7 (1-20 g/d), 1.6 (21-40 g/d), 4.3 (41-60 g/d) and 4.6 (61+ g/d) in men and 3.1 (1-20 g/d) and 3.9 (21+ g/d) in women. These results suggest that regular consumption of both coffee and alcohol can be independently associated with an increased bladder cancer risk.

Clear cell adenocarcinoma arising in the lower urinary tract is unusual. We report a case of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the bladder in a 54-year-old male. Cystoscopic examination revealed a tumour arising from the dome of the urinary bladder. Histologically, the tumour was chiefly composed of tubulocystic and papillary glands lined by glycogen-rich, cubical or hobnail cells with clear to eosinophilic cytoplasm. The tumour infiltrated into the inner muscular layer. The patient was treated by partial cystectomy.

Although most prostate carcinomas belong to the conventional acinar type, unusual variants have been reported. The adenoid cystic/basal cell carcinoma of the prostate is a rare tumor with distinctive histopathologic features. There are quite few publications in the literature concerning the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this neoplasm. METHODS. A 71-year-old man had an increased PSA value (5.11 ng/dL); the prostatic biopsy examination was positive for adenoid cystic/basal cell carcinoma. For this reason we proceeded with radical prostatectomy. The histology examination showed an acinar conventional carcinoma and adenoid cystic/basal cell carcinoma. At eight months the patient did not show any recurrence. CONCLUSIONS. Various histologic and immunohistochemical features are helpful in recognizing the adenoid cystic/basal cell carcinoma of the prostate. Clinically, the only difference from a conventional adenocarcinoma is that the PSA value is usually normal or only slightly increased. This tumor has a biological potential that can result in metastases in some cases; the current treatment consists primarily in the surgical resection. A close, long-term follow-up is strongly recommended.

The desmoid tumor is a rare tumor characterized by the proliferation of fibrotic tissue. The tumor is composed of well-differentiated fibrous tissue and has a hard-elastic consistency. Regarding the development of dermoid tumors, several risk factors were identified, including extra-abdominal fibromatosis, genetic factors, endocrine factors. Other causes may arise from trauma or abdominal injury in surgical outcomes of appendectomy, laparotomy and other surgical scars (scar fibromatosis) or genetic predisposing factors. The surgical resection of dermoid tumors should be the therapy of choice, complete and radical, to cover the possible excision of a wide margin of surrounding structures concerned, and those arrangements should ensure a low rate of relapse. However, in cases of inoperable cancer due to extension, anti-estrogen therapy may have an important therapeutic and well-tolerated effect, besides being relatively non-toxic, even at high doses. A close follow-up is indicated, however, and warmly recommended.