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Santacroce L, Pia Cazzolla A, Lovero R, Brescia V, Ciavarella D, Spirito F, Colella M, Bilancia M, Lo Muzio L, Di Serio F. Neurosensory alterations and Interleukins Cascade in SARS-CoV-2 Infection - Results from a Retrospective Cohort of COVID-19 Inpatients. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets 2023:EMIDDT-EPUB-129554. [PMID: 36797608 DOI: 10.2174/1871530323666230216145027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN The aim of this study was to relate IL-6 and IL-1β serum levels with the severity of olfactory disorders and with the type of unperceived odors. MATERIALS AND METHODS 82 inpatients (45 men aged 62.3 ±14.2 and 37 women aged 57.1± 12.8) with only smell dysfunctions were divided into two groups. The evaluation of the smell disorder was carried out with a questionnaire to define which sensitivity is most compromised in COVID-19 patients. Cytokine levels were measured with chemiluminescence and ELISA assay. Statistical analyses were performed with the Wilcoxon Rank test, Welch's Welch's T-test, and Mann-Whitney test (p <0.05). RESULTS Statistically significant differences in IL-6 and IL-1 β levels were found in moderate disease patients when there was an impairment of trigeminal sensitivity (p <0.05) and trigeminal and olfactory sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained showed that in COVID-19 patients the impairment of trigeminal sensitivity in association with olfactory sensitivity was more prevalent in moderate than in mild forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Santacroce
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Section of Microbiology and Virology, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Angela Pia Cazzolla
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Roberto Lovero
- Clinical Pathology Unit, AOU Policlinico Consorziale di Bari - Ospedale Giovanni XXIII, Bari 70124, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Brescia
- Clinical Pathology Unit, AOU Policlinico Consorziale di Bari - Ospedale Giovanni XXIII, Bari 70124, Italy
| | - Domenico Ciavarella
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Francesca Spirito
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Marica Colella
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Section of Microbiology and Virology, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Ionian Department, Università degli Studi di Bari, 74123 Taranto, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Lo Muzio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Università degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Francesca Di Serio
- Clinical Pathology Unit, AOU Policlinico Consorziale di Bari - Ospedale Giovanni XXIII, Bari 70124, Italy
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Bilancia M, Vitale D, Manca F, Perchinunno P, Santacroce L. A dynamic causal modeling of the second outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy. Adv Stat Anal 2023:1-30. [PMID: 36776481 PMCID: PMC9904269 DOI: 10.1007/s10182-023-00469-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
While the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 is having its positive impact, we retrospectively analyze the causal impact of some decisions made by the Italian government on the second outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italy, when no vaccine was available. First, we analyze the causal impact of reopenings after the first lockdown in 2020. In addition, we also analyze the impact of reopening schools in September 2020. Our results provide an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the causal relationship between the relaxation of restrictions and the transmission in the community of a highly contagious respiratory virus that causes severe illness in the absence of prophylactic vaccination programs. We present a purely data-analytic approach based on a Bayesian methodology and discuss possible interpretations of the results obtained and implications for policy makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Bilancia
- Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Policlinic University Hospital – Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Vitale
- MEMOTEF Department, University of Roma La Sapienza, Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Manca
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication (ForPsiCom), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Palazzo Chiaia Napolitano – Via S. Crisanzio 42, 70122 Bari, Italy
| | - Paola Perchinunno
- Department of Business and Law Studies (DEMDI), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Largo Abbazia di Santa Scolastica 53, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Luigi Santacroce
- Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM) and Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Policlinic University Hospital – Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy
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Di Bona D, Nettis E, Bilancia M, Ridolo E, Minenna E, Nizi MC, Albanesi M, Caiaffa MF, Macchia L. Duration of chronic spontaneous urticaria remission after omalizumab discontinuation: A long-term observational study. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2021; 9:2482-2485.e2. [PMID: 33677081 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.02.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Di Bona
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
| | - Eustachio Nettis
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean: Society, Environment, Culture, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Erminia Ridolo
- Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Medicine and Surgery Department, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Elena Minenna
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Maria Cristina Nizi
- Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Medicine and Surgery Department, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Marcello Albanesi
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Luigi Macchia
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University of Bari - Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Di Bona D, Bilancia M, Albanesi M, Caiaffa MF, Macchia L. Cost-effectiveness of grass pollen allergen immunotherapy in adults. Allergy 2020; 75:2319-2329. [PMID: 32096242 DOI: 10.1111/all.14246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major scientific societies, such as the EAACI or the AAAAI, do not express any suggestion on which form of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is to be preferred (subcutaneous immunotherapy, SCIT, vs sublingual immunotherapy, SLIT). This choice could depend on their relative pharmacoeconomic value. OBJECTIVE To assess the cost-effectiveness of AIT for grass pollen, administered as SCIT or SLIT. METHODS We created a Markovian Model, to evaluate, in a hypothetical cohort of adult patients suffering from moderate-to-severe rhino-conjunctivitis with or without allergic asthma, the cost-effectiveness of SLIT (tablets, Grazax® and Oralair® ) or SCIT (various currently available products, plus indirect nonmedical costs, such as travel and productivity costs) in addition to pharmacological therapy, assuming a 9-year horizon to capture AIT long-term effects. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated assuming pharmacological therapy as the reference comparator. RESULTS In the base case, SCIT was slightly more expensive, but more effective than SLIT, being the most cost-effective option (ICER for SCIT, €11 418; ICER for SLIT, €15 212). ICERs greater than €120 000 for both SCIT and SLIT were demonstrated in a scenario assuming that low treatment persistence rates, which are common in real-life, lead to absence of long-term AIT clinical benefit. Considering indirect nonmedical costs SLIT resulted more cost-effective than SCIT (ICER for SCIT, €17 318; ICER for SLIT, €15 212). CONCLUSION In daily practice, AIT for grass pollens may be a cost-effective option only in patients with low discontinuation rates. SCIT, which is less affected by this limitation than SLIT, seems the most cost-effective AIT form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Di Bona
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology University of Bari Aldo Moro Bari Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean: Society, Environment, Culture University of Bari Aldo Moro Bari Italy
| | - Marcello Albanesi
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology University of Bari Aldo Moro Bari Italy
| | | | - Luigi Macchia
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology University of Bari Aldo Moro Bari Italy
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Bilancia M, Pasculli G, Di Bona D. A non-stationary Markov model for economic evaluation of grass pollen allergoid immunotherapy. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0232753. [PMID: 32407326 PMCID: PMC7224467 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (ARC) is an IgE-mediated disease that occurs after exposure to indoor or outdoor allergens, or to non-specific triggers. Effective treatment options for seasonal ARC are available, but the economic aspects and burden of these therapies are not of secondary importance, also considered that the prevalence of ARC has been estimated at 23% in Europe. For these reasons, we propose a novel flexible cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) model, intended to provide healthcare professionals and policymakers with useful information aimed at cost-effective interventions for grass-pollen induced allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (ARC). Methods Treatments compared are: 1. no AIT, first-line symptomatic drug-therapy with no allergoid immunotherapy (AIT). 2. SCIT, subcutaneous immunotherapy. 3. SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy. The proposed model is a non-stationary Markovian model, that is flexible enough to reflect those treatment-related problems often encountered in real-life and clinical practice, but that cannot be adequately represented in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). At the same time, we described in detail all the structural elements of the model as well as its input parameters, in order to minimize any issue of transparency and facilitate the reproducibility and circulation of the results among researchers. Results Using the no AIT strategy as a comparator, and the Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) as a statistic to summarize the cost-effectiveness of a health care intervention, we could conclude that: Conclusions Even though there is a considerable evidence that SCIT outperforms SLIT, we could not state that both SCIT and SLIT (or only one of these two) can be considered cost-effective for ARC, as a reliable threshold value for cost-effectiveness set by national regulatory agencies for pharmaceutical products is missing. Moreover, the impact of model input parameters uncertainty on the reliability of our conclusions needs to be investigated further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Bilancia
- Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean (DJSGEM), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Taranto, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Giuseppe Pasculli
- Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering Antonio Ruberti (DIAG), La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Danilo Di Bona
- School and Chair of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation (DETO), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Polimeno L, Barone M, Mosca A, Viggiani MT, Joukar F, Mansour-Ghanaei F, Mavaddati S, Daniele A, Debellis L, Bilancia M, Santacroce L, Di Leo A. Soy Metabolism by Gut Microbiota from Patients with Precancerous Intestinal Lesions. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8040469. [PMID: 32218321 PMCID: PMC7232402 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8040469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) requires the presence of a variety of factors predisposing a tumorigenic milieu. Excluding familial clustering and hereditary CRC syndromes, the development of sporadic CRC from precancerous lesions is influenced by tissue inflammation, modulation of intestinal immunity, hormones, dietary habits and gut microbiota composition. As concerning the last two aspects, the intestinal presence of equol, the most biologically active metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein and the presence of a genetic determinant of gut microbiota able to metabolize daidzein, seem to lower the CRC risk. It has been hypothesized that the anaerobic microorganisms of the Bacteroides genus play a role in equol production. AIM To evaluate the presence of (i) anaerobic gut microbiota and (ii) the urinary levels of soy isoflavones (daidzein, genistein and equol) in patients with and without precancerous lesions, challenged with a daidzein-rich soy extract. METHODS Consecutive subjects undergoing colonoscopy participated to the study. Feces were collected from all patients one week before colonoscopy for gut microbiota studies. After the endoscopy examination and the histological evaluation, 40 subjects, 20 with sporadic colorectal adenomas (SCA/P group) and 20 without proliferative lesions (control group) were enrolled for the study. Urine levels of soy isoflavones daidzein, genistein and their metabolite equol, were determined by high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis and gut microbiota analysis was performed by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) procedure. RESULTS Seventeen different bacterial species were identified in the fecal samples of the forty subjects participating to the study. Ten bacterial species resulted anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria, all belonging to the Bacteroides genus. A significant difference of bacteria species was evidenced in the fecal samples of the two groups of subjects. Particularly important was the evidence of Parabacteroides distasonis, Clostridium clostridioforme and Pediococcus pentasaceus only in control fecal samples, such as the presence of Bacteroides fragilis and Prevotella melaningenica only in SCA/P fecal samples. Concerning the soy isoflavones levels, no statistically significant differences were revealed in the genistein and daidzein urinary levels between the two groups of subjects. On the contrary, urinary equol levels were undetectable in ten SCA/P subjects and in two controls; moreover, when present, the levels of urinary equol were significantly lower in SCA/P subjects compared to controls (0.24 ± 0.27 mg/24 hrs vs. 21.25 ± 4.3 mg/24 hrs, respectively, p = 1.12 × 10-6). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the presence of anaerobic Bacteroides in the colon, and the production of equol from soy, could determine a milieu able to contrast the development of colonic mucosa proliferative lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Polimeno
- Polypheno Academic Spin Off, University of Bari “A. Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Michele Barone
- Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.B.); (M.T.V.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Adriana Mosca
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Policlinico, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Maria Teresa Viggiani
- Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.B.); (M.T.V.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Farahnaz Joukar
- Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, 41448-95655 Rasht, Iran; (F.J.); (F.M.-G.); (S.M.)
| | - Fariborz Mansour-Ghanaei
- Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, 41448-95655 Rasht, Iran; (F.J.); (F.M.-G.); (S.M.)
| | - Sara Mavaddati
- Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, 41448-95655 Rasht, Iran; (F.J.); (F.M.-G.); (S.M.)
| | - Antonella Daniele
- Experimental Oncology, Scientific Institute for Cancer Care and Research IRCCS “G. Paolo II”, Viale Orazio Flacco, 65, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Lucantonio Debellis
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceuticals, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via E. Orabona 4, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Ionian Department (DJSGEM), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 74123 Taranto, Italy;
| | - Luigi Santacroce
- Ionian Department (DJSGEM), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 74123 Taranto, Italy;
- Microbiology and Virology Lab., Policlinico University Hospital of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-08-0547-8486
| | - Alfredo Di Leo
- Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy; (M.B.); (M.T.V.); (A.D.L.)
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Prelaj A, Rebuzzi SE, Pizzutilo P, Bilancia M, Montrone M, Pesola F, Longo V, Del Bene G, Lapadula V, Cassano F, Petrillo P, Bafunno D, Varesano N, Lamorgese V, Mastrandrea A, Ricci D, Catino A, Galetta D. EPSILoN: A Prognostic Score Using Clinical and Blood Biomarkers in Advanced Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer Treated With Immunotherapy. Clin Lung Cancer 2020; 21:365-377.e5. [PMID: 32245624 DOI: 10.1016/j.cllc.2019.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Revised: 07/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Second-line immunotherapy (IO) has shown an overall survival benefit. However, only 18% to 20% of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) will respond, with a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 2 to 4 months. Thus, biomarkers to select those patients most likely to benefit from IO are greatly needed. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of 154 patients with aNSCLC who had received anti-programmed cell death 1 therapy as second line or further treatment. We assessed the absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil counts at baseline (T0) and the second (T1) and third (T2) cycles. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived-NLR (dNLR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), and their percentage of change at T1 and T2 compared with T0 were evaluated. The clinical characteristics and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level were also considered. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Significant biomarkers for PFS on multivariate analysis were combined in a prognostic score. RESULTS For overall survival, the negative prognostic biomarkers were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 2, NLR at T0, and dNLR at T1; the LMR at T0, T1, and T2 was identified as a positive prognostic biomarker. For PFS, the negative prognostic biomarkers were ECOG PS 2, liver metastases, NLR at T0, dNLR at T1 and T2, and ≥ 30% increase of NLR from T0 to T1; the positive prognostic biomarkers were heavy smoking, LDH, and LMR at T2. The ≥ 30% increase of LMR from T0 to T1 and T0 to T2 correlated with the overall response rate. A prognostic score (EPSILoN score; smoking, ECOG PS, liver metastases, LDH, NLR) identified 3 prognostic groups (median PFS, 10.2, 4.9, and 1.7 months, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The EPSILoN score combines 5 baseline clinical and blood biomarkers and can help to identify patients with aNSCLC who will most likely benefit from second-line IO. Further studies are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arsela Prelaj
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy; Medical Oncology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
| | | | - Pamela Pizzutilo
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean: Society, Environment, and Culture, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Taranto, Italy
| | - Michele Montrone
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Pesola
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Vito Longo
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Gabriella Del Bene
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Vittoria Lapadula
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Flavio Cassano
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Patrizia Petrillo
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Daniela Bafunno
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Niccolò Varesano
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Vito Lamorgese
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Angelica Mastrandrea
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Donatella Ricci
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Annamaria Catino
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Galetta
- Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit, Clinical Cancer Center "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy
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Santacroce L, Mavaddati S, Hamedi J, Zeinali B, Ballini A, Bilancia M. Expressive Analysis of Gut Microbiota in Pre- and Post- Solid Organ Transplantation Using Bayesian Topic Models. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2020 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-58811-3_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Di Bona D, Pandey JP, Aiello A, Bilancia M, Candore G, Caruso C, Colomba C, Duro G, Ligotti ME, Macchia L, Rizzo S, Accardi G. The immunoglobulin γ marker 17 allotype and KIR/HLA genes prevent the development of chronic hepatitis B in humans. Immunology 2019; 159:178-182. [PMID: 31613998 DOI: 10.1111/imm.13133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes a self-limiting disease in most individuals. However, < 10% of infected subjects develop a chronic disease. Genetic host variability of polymorphic genes at the interface of innate and acquired immunity, such as killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), their human leucocyte antigen (HLA) and IgG allotypes (GM), could explain this different clinical picture. We previously showed a protective role of the KIR2DL3 gene for the development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and a detrimental role of the KIR ligand groups, HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2. We have expanded the previous analysis genotyping patients for GM23 and GM3/17 allotypes. The comparison of the patients with CHB with those who resolved HBV infection showed that the presence of GM17 allele virtually eliminated the risk of developing CHB (OR, 0·03; 95% CI, 0·004-0·16; P < 0·0001). In addition, the combination of GM17, KIR2DL3, HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2 was highly sensitive to predict the outcome of HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Di Bona
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Janardan P Pandey
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Anna Aiello
- Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Dipartmento Jonico in Sistemi Giuridici ed Economici del Mediterraneo: società, ambiente, culture, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Candore
- Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Calogero Caruso
- Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Claudia Colomba
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno-Infantile 'G. D'Alessandro', Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Duro
- Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - Mattia Emanuela Ligotti
- Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Luigi Macchia
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Sergio Rizzo
- Unità Operativa di Medicina Trasfusionale, AOUP, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giulia Accardi
- Laboratorio di Immunopatologia e Immunosenescenza, Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Prelaj A, Rebuzzi S, Pizzutilo P, Bilancia M, Montrone M, Pesola F, Longo V, Del Bene G, Lapadula V, Cassano F, Petrillo P, Bafunno D, Varesano N, Lamorgese V, Mastranrdea A, Ricci D, Catino A, Galetta D. Time-series of peripheral blood biomarkers as biomarkers for immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients. Ann Oncol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdz067.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Prelaj A, Rebuzzi S, Pizzutilo P, Bilancia M, Montrone M, Pesola F, Longo V, Del Bene G, Lapadula V, Cassano F, Petrillo P, Bafunno D, Varesano N, Lamorgese V, Mastranrdea A, Ricci D, Catino A, Galetta D. Peripheral blood biomarkers as prognostic factors for immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients. Ann Oncol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdz063.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Di Bona D, Accardi G, Aiello A, Bilancia M, Candore G, Colomba C, Caruso C, Duro G, Gambino CM, Macchia L, Pandey JP. Association between γ marker, human leucocyte antigens and killer immunoglobulin-like receptors and the natural course of human cytomegalovirus infection: a pilot study performed in a Sicilian population. Immunology 2017; 153:523-531. [PMID: 29067686 DOI: 10.1111/imm.12855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 09/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells provide a major defence against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection through the interaction of their surface receptors, including the activating and inhibitory killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules. Also γ marker (GM) allotypes, able to influence the NK antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, appear to be involved in the immunological control of virus infections, including HCMV. In some cases, their contribution requires epistatic interaction with other genes of the immune system, such as HLA. In the present report, with the aim of gaining insight into the immune mechanisms controlling HCMV, we have studied the possible associations among humoral and NK responses, and HCMV infections. In a previous study we assessed whether the KIR and HLA repertoire might influence the risk of developing symptomatic (n = 60) or asymptomatic (n = 60) disease after primary HCMV infection in the immunocompetent host. In the present study, the immunocompetent patients with primary symptomatic HCMV infection were genotyped for GM3/17 and GM23 allotypes, along with the 60 participants with a previous asymptomatic infection as controls. Notwithstanding the presence of missing data record, advanced missing data recovery techniques were able to show that individuals carrying the GM23 allotypes, both homozygous and heterozygous, GM17/17, HLA-C2 and Bw4T KIR-ligand groups are associated with the risk of developing symptomatic infection. Our findings on the role of both cellular and humoral immunity in the control of HCMV infection should be of value in guiding efforts to reduce HCMV-associated health complications in the elderly, including immunosenescence, and in transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Di Bona
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Giulia Accardi
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Anna Aiello
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- Dipartmento Jonico in Sistemi Giuridici ed Economici del Mediterraneo: società, ambiente, culture, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Candore
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Claudia Colomba
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno-Infantile "G. D'Alessandro", Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Calogero Caruso
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Duro
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - Caterina M Gambino
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Luigi Macchia
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Janardan P Pandey
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
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Di Bona D, Aiello A, Colomba C, Bilancia M, Accardi G, Rubino R, Giannitrapani L, Tuttolomondo A, Cascio A, Caiaffa MF, Rizzo S, Di Lorenzo G, Candore G, Duro G, Macchia L, Montalto G, Caruso C. KIR2DL3 and the KIR ligand groups HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2 predict the outcome of hepatitis B virus infection. J Viral Hepat 2017; 24:768-775. [PMID: 28211154 DOI: 10.1111/jvh.12698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 02/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) regulate the activation of natural killer cells through their interaction with human leucocyte antigens (HLA). KIR and HLA loci are highly polymorphic, and certain HLA-KIR combinations have been found to protect against viral infections. In this study, we analysed whether the KIR/HLA repertoire may influence the course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Fifty-seven subjects with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 44 subjects with resolved HBV infection and 60 healthy uninfected controls (HC) were genotyped for KIR and their HLA ligands. The frequency of the HLA-A-Bw4 ligand group was higher in CHB (58%) than subjects with resolved infection (23%) (crude OR, 4.67; P<.001) and HC (10%) (crude OR, 12.38; P<.001). Similar results were obtained for the HLA-C2 ligand group, more frequent in CHB (84%), than subjects with resolved infection (70%) (crude OR, 2.24; P<.10) and HC (60%) (crude OR, 3.56; P<.01). Conversely, the frequency of KIR2DL3 was lower in CHB (81%) than in subjects with resolved infection (98%) (crude OR, 0.10; P<.05). These results suggest a detrimental role of HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2 groups, which are associated with the development of CHB, and a protective role of KIR2DL3. A stepwise variable selection procedure, based on multiple logistic regression analysis, identified these three predictive variables as the most relevant, featuring high specificity (90.9%) and positive predictive value (87.5%) for the development of CHB. Our results suggest that a combination of KIR/HLA gene/alleles is able to predict the outcome of HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Di Bona
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - A Aiello
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - C Colomba
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno-Infantile "G. D'Alessandro", Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Bilancia
- Dipartmento Jonico in Sistemi Giuridici ed Economici del Mediterraneo: Società, Ambiente, Culture, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - G Accardi
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - R Rubino
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno-Infantile "G. D'Alessandro", Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - L Giannitrapani
- Dipartimento BioMedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - A Tuttolomondo
- Dipartimento BioMedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - A Cascio
- Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute e Materno-Infantile "G. D'Alessandro", Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - M F Caiaffa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Università di Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - S Rizzo
- Unità Operativa di Medicina Trasfusionale, AOUP, Palermo, Italy
| | - G Di Lorenzo
- Dipartimento BioMedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - G Candore
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Unità Operativa di Medicina Trasfusionale, AOUP, Palermo, Italy
| | - G Duro
- Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - L Macchia
- Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti d'Organo, Università di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - G Montalto
- Dipartimento BioMedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - C Caruso
- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Unità Operativa di Medicina Trasfusionale, AOUP, Palermo, Italy
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- Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Unità Operativa di Medicina Trasfusionale, AOUP, Palermo, Italy
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Di Ciaula A, Bilancia M. Relationships between mild PM10 and ozone urban air levels and spontaneous abortion: clues for primary prevention. Int J Environ Health Res 2015; 25:640-55. [PMID: 25609560 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2014.1003041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The effects of environmental pollution on spontaneous abortion (SAB) are still unclear. Records of SAB were collected from five cities (514,996 residents) and correlated with PM10, NO(2) and ozone levels. Median pollutant concentrations were below legal limits. Monthly SABs positively correlated with PM10 and ozone levels but not with NO(2) levels. The mean monthly SAB rate increase was estimated equal to 19.7 and 33.6 % per 10 μg/m(3) increase in PM10 or ozone concentration, respectively. Higher values of PM10 and SABs were evident in cities with- than in those without pollutant industries, with a number of SABs twofolds higher in the former group. In conclusion, SAB occurrence is affected by PM10 (particularly if industrial areas are present) and ozone concentrations, also at levels below the legal limits. Thus, SAB might be considered, at least in part, a preventable condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agostino Di Ciaula
- a Division of Internal Medicine, Hospital of Bisceglie (ASL BAT), International Society of Doctors for Environment (ISDE) , Italy
| | - Massimo Bilancia
- b Ionic Department in Legal and Economic System of Mediterranean: Society, Environment, Culture , University of Bari Aldo Moro , Bari , Italy
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Bilancia M, Fedespina A. Geographical clustering of lung cancer in the province of Lecce, Italy: 1992-2001. Int J Health Geogr 2009; 8:40. [PMID: 19570225 PMCID: PMC2718871 DOI: 10.1186/1476-072x-8-40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2008] [Accepted: 07/01/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The triennial mortality rates for lung cancer in the two decades 1981–2001 in the province of Lecce, Italy, are significantly higher than those for the entire region of Apulia (to which the Province of Lecce belongs) and the national reference rates. Moreover, analyzing the rates in the three-year periods 1993–95, 1996–98 and 1999–01, there is a dramatic increase in mortality for both males and females, which still remains essentially unexplained: to understand the extent of this phenomenon, it is worth noting that the standardized mortality rate for males in 1999–01 is equal to 13.92 per 10000 person-years, compared to a value of 6.96 for Italy in the 2000–2002 period. These data have generated a considerable concern in the press and public opinion, which with little scientific reasoning have sometimes identified suspected culprits of the risk excess (for example, the emission caused by a number of large industrial sites located in the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto, bordering the Province of Lecce). The objective of this paper is to study on a scientifically sound basis the spatial distribution of risk for lung cancer mortality in the province of Lecce. Our goal is to demonstrate that most of the previous explanations are not supported by data: to this end, we will follow a hybrid approach that combines both frequentist and Bayesian disease mapping methods. Furthermore, we define a new sequential algorithm based on a modified version of the Besag-York-Mollié (BYM) model, suitably modified to detect geographical clusters of disease. Results Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for lung cancer in the province of Lecce: For males, the relative risk (measured by means of SMR, i.e. the ratio between observed and expected cases in each area under internal standardization) was judged to be significantly greater than 1 in many municipal areas, the significance being evaluated under the null hypothesis of neutral risk on the ground of area-specific p-values (denoted by ρi); in addition, it was seen that high risk areas were not randomly distributed within the province, but showed a sharp clustering. The most perceptible cluster involved a collection of municipalities around the Maglie area (Istat code: 75039), while the association among the municipalities of Otranto, Poggiardo and Santa Cesarea Terme (Istat codes: 75057, 75061, 75072) was more ambiguous. For females, it was noteworthy the significant risk excess in the city of Lecce (Istat code: 75035), where an SMR of 1.83 and ρi < 0.01 have been registered. BYM model for the province of Lecce: For males, Bayes estimates of relative risks varied around an overall mean of 1.04 with standard deviation of 0.1, with a minimum of 0.77 and a maximum of 1.25. The posterior relative risks for females, although smoothed, showed more variation than for males, ranging form 0.74 to 1.65, around a mean of 0.90 with standard deviation 0.12. For males, 95% posterior credible intervals of relative risks included unity in every area, whereas significantly elevated risk of mortality was confirmed in the Lecce area for females (95% posterior CI: 1.33 – 2.00). BYM model for the whole Apulia: For males, internally standardized maps showed several high risk areas bordering the province of Lecce, belonging to the province of Brindisi, and the presence of a large high risk region, including the southern part of the province of Brindisi and the eastern and southern part of the Salento peninsula, in which an increasing trend in the north-south direction was found. Ecological correlation study with deprivation (Cadum Index): For males, posterior mean of the ecological regression coefficient β resulted to be 0.04 with 95% posterior credible interval equal to (-0.01, 0.08); similarly, β was estimated as equal to -0.03 for females (95% posterior credible interval: -0.16, 0.10). Moreover, there was some indication of nonlinearly increasing relative risk with increasing deprivation for higher deprivation levels. For females, it was difficult to postulate the existence of any association between risk and deprivation. Cluster detection: cluster detection based on a modified BYM model identified two large unexplained increased risk clusters in the central-eastern and southern part of the peninsula. Other secondary clusters, which raise several complex interpretation issues, are present. Conclusion Our results reduce the alleged role of the industrial facilities located around the province of Taranto: in particular, air pollution produced around the city of Taranto (which lies to the west of the province of Lecce) has been often identified as the main culprit of the mortality excess, a conclusion that was further supported by a recent study on the direction of prevailing winds on Salento. This hypothesis is contradicted by the finding that those municipalities that directly border on the province of Taranto (belonging to the so-called "Jonico-Salentina" band) are those that present low mortality rates (at least for males). In the same way, the responsibilities of energy production plants located in the province of Brindisi (Brindisi province lies to the north) appear to be of little relevance. For females, given the situation observed in the city of Lecce, and given the substantial increase in mortality observed in younger age classes, further investigation is required into the role played by changes in lifestyle, including greater net propensity to smoke that women have shown since the 80s onwards (a phenomenon which could be amplified in a city traditionally cultured and modern as Lecce, as the tobacco habit is a largely cultural phenomenon). For males, the presence of high levels of deprivation throughout the eastern and southern Salento is likely to play an important role: those with lower socio-economic status smoke more, and gender differences may be explained on the basis of the fact that in less developed areas women have less habit to tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking (and other harmful lifestyles), which are seen as purely masculine behaviour: research into the role of material deprivation and individual lifestyle differences between genders should be further developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Bilancia
- Department of Statistical Sciences Carlo Cecchi, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy.
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Graziano G, Bilancia M, Bisceglia L, de Nichilo G, Pollice A, Assennato G. [Statistical analysis of the incidence of some cancers in the province of Taranto 1999-2001]. Epidemiol Prev 2009; 33:37-44. [PMID: 19585874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE to estimate the spatial distribution of risk, in order to assess its correlation to environmental pollution exposure around the large production facilities located in the Taranto area, and to identify high risk areas not previously reported. SETTING Italy, Taranto province (581,508 inhabitants). DESIGN incidence data in 29 municipalities of the Taranto province were extracted from the Jonico Salentino Cancer Registry (RTJS) for the following cancer sites: lung (ICDX C33-C34); pleura, pleuric mesothelioma (ICDX C45.0); bladder, malignancies only (ICDX C67); brain (ICDX C70-72); non-Hodgkin lymphoma (ICDX C82-85, C96); leukaemia (ICDX C91-5). Age standardized incidence rates for the whole province were computed. High-level risk areas were classified using a Poisson model, computing area-specific p-values associated to the null hypothesis of no increased risk (i.e. relative risk equal to 1). A hierarchical spatial Bayesian model was estimated to strengthen results: specifically two additional variance components, accounting for relative risk spatial autocorrelation and excess heterogeneity respectively, were considered in the model specification. Bayesian mapping of disease incidence allows for the drawing of regularized (smoothed) maps. To adjust for the effect of socio-economic deprivation, a five-variable index was introduced into the model as an ecological covariate. RESULTS an increased risk of lung, pleura and bladder cancer was observed among male residents in the city of Taranto (respectively: SIR 1.24, p-value < 0.01; SIR: 2.21, p-value < 0.01; SIR 1.28, p-value < 0.01). For non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a significant value was observed in the city of Taranto for males (SIR 1.46, p-value < 0.01), as well as in the neighbouring area of Pulsano for females (SIR 3.88, p-value < 0.01). An unexpected increased risk of brain cancer was found in both sexe risk (especially among males) of lung, pleura and bladder cancer is likely related to the chemical pollutants and asbestos, due to the presence of many industries and shipyards in the city of Taranto.
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Bilancia M, Stea G. Timescale effect estimation in time-series studies of air pollution and health: A Singular Spectrum Analysis approach. Electron J Stat 2008. [DOI: 10.1214/07-ejs123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Bilancia M, Cavone D, Pollice A, Musti M. [Assessment of risk of mesothelioma: the case of an asbestos-cement production plant in the city of Bari]. Epidemiol Prev 2003; 27:277-84. [PMID: 14735839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this paper, by means of explorative methods based on geographical analysis, the relationship between the presence of an asbestos-cement factory in the urban area of Bari and malignant mesothelioma cases, occurring between 1980 and 2001 among residents, is analysed. METHODS The data source of the 64 cases studied is the national register of mesotheliomas (Renam), the Apulia regional operating centre (Cor-Puglia). Data are analysed by the use of the S + SpatialStats software. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Both individual data analysis and explorative geographic analysis point out an increased risk of disease among people living near the asbestos-cement factory: within an area centred on the location of plants and having a radius of about 1 Km, the estimated risk is 2.38 times above the normal level. Further analytical studies are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Bilancia
- Dipartimento di scienze statistiche, Università degli Studi di Bari
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