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Article

The “Polonium In Vivo” Study: Polonium-210 in Bronchial Lavages of Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer

by
Vincenzo Zagà
1,
Maria Sofia Cattaruzza
2,*,
Paola Martucci
3,
Roberta Pacifici
4,
Rocco Trisolini
5,
Paolo Bartolomei
6,
Raffaela Giacobbe
3,
Marco Patelli
7,
Daniela Paioli
5,
Massimo Esposito
8,
Valeria Fabbri
8,
Silvano Gallus
9 and
Giuseppe Gorini
10
1
Italian Society of Tobaccology SITAB, 40137 Bologna, Italy
2
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, La Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
3
Bronchial Endoscopy Unit and Interventional Diagnostics-Centre for Tobacco Treatment, AORN A. Cardarelli, 80131 Napoli, Italy
4
National Observatory on Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs of the National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy
5
Interventional Pulmonology Unit, Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
6
ENEA, 40129 Bologna, Italy
7
Bronchology Unit, Ospedale Maggiore, 40133 Bologna, Italy
8
U-Series Srl, 40128 Bologna, Italy
9
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy
10
Oncologic Network, Prevention and Research Institute (ISPRO), 50139 Florence, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biomedicines 2021, 9(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010004
Submission received: 3 December 2020 / Revised: 17 December 2020 / Accepted: 17 December 2020 / Published: 23 December 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lung Cancer: Tumor Progression and Target Therapy)
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Abstract

Few studies have reported on polonium-210, a decay breakdown product of radon-222 and lead-210, in human lungs and there has been no study in patients with suspected lung cancer. The main aim of this “Polonium in vivo” study was to evaluate polonium-210 radioactivity in bronchopulmonary systems of smoker, ex-smoker and never smoker patients with suspected lung cancer. Alpha-spectrometric analyses were performed on bronchial lavage (BL) fluids from two Italian hospitals in 2013–2016. Socio-demographic, smoking, occupational and spirometric characteristics, lung cancer confirmation and histologic type and radon-222 concentration in patients’ homes were collected. Seventy BL samples from never (n = 13), former (n = 35) and current smokers (n = 22) were analyzed; polonium-210 was detected in all samples from current and former smokers and in 54% of samples from never smokers (p < 0.001; median values: 1.20, 1.43 and 0.40 mBq, respectively). Polonium-210 levels were significantly higher in COPD versus no COPD patients (median value: 3.60 vs. 0.97 mBq; p = 0.007); former and current smokers, without and with COPD, had significantly increased polonium-210 levels (p = 0.012); 96% of confirmed versus 69% of non-confirmed lung cancer patients recorded detectable polonium-210 levels (p = 0.018). A polonium-210 detectable activity was measured in BL samples from all current and former smokers. Polonium-210 in the lungs could be the result of lead-210 entrapment, which, with its half-life of 22 years, could provide a continuous emission of alpha radioactivity, even many years after quitting, thus proposing a possible explanation for the onset of lung cancer, particularly in former smokers.
Keywords: polonium-210; lung cancer; smoking status; radon; bronchial lavage polonium-210; lung cancer; smoking status; radon; bronchial lavage

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zagà, V.; Cattaruzza, M.S.; Martucci, P.; Pacifici, R.; Trisolini, R.; Bartolomei, P.; Giacobbe, R.; Patelli, M.; Paioli, D.; Esposito, M.; et al. The “Polonium In Vivo” Study: Polonium-210 in Bronchial Lavages of Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer. Biomedicines 2021, 9, 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010004

AMA Style

Zagà V, Cattaruzza MS, Martucci P, Pacifici R, Trisolini R, Bartolomei P, Giacobbe R, Patelli M, Paioli D, Esposito M, et al. The “Polonium In Vivo” Study: Polonium-210 in Bronchial Lavages of Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer. Biomedicines. 2021; 9(1):4. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010004

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zagà, Vincenzo, Maria Sofia Cattaruzza, Paola Martucci, Roberta Pacifici, Rocco Trisolini, Paolo Bartolomei, Raffaela Giacobbe, Marco Patelli, Daniela Paioli, Massimo Esposito, and et al. 2021. "The “Polonium In Vivo” Study: Polonium-210 in Bronchial Lavages of Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer" Biomedicines 9, no. 1: 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010004

APA Style

Zagà, V., Cattaruzza, M. S., Martucci, P., Pacifici, R., Trisolini, R., Bartolomei, P., Giacobbe, R., Patelli, M., Paioli, D., Esposito, M., Fabbri, V., Gallus, S., & Gorini, G. (2021). The “Polonium In Vivo” Study: Polonium-210 in Bronchial Lavages of Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer. Biomedicines, 9(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9010004

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