Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31659991›Full record

ArticleLa Medicina del lavoro2019

Plasma levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and the risk of soft tissue sarcoma.

Valentina Guercio, Francesca Donato, Claudio Pelucchi, Federica Verga, Valter Passini, Carlotta Galeone, Eva Negri, Giacomo Garzaro, Paolo Boffetta, Carlo La Vecchia and 2 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in La Medicina del lavoro, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 85% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 0 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Personal Medical History, Family History of Cancer, and the Risk of Soft-Tissue Sarcoma.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Valentina Guercio. valentina.guercio@unimi.it.
Francesca Donato
Claudio Pelucchi
Federica Verga
Valter Passini
Carlotta Galeone
Eva Negri
Giacomo Garzaro
Paolo Boffetta
Carlo La Vecchia
Alessandra Tavani
Enrico Pira
University of Turin · ITVale (Brazil) · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSoft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms whose aetiology is largely unknown. Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are potential risk factors for STS.

objectivesTo investigate the relation of 17 PCBs congeners, assessed in human plasma, with STS risk.

methodsWe conducted a case-control study in Italy, including 52 STS cases and 99 hospital-based controls. Selected PCB were extracted by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and measured with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Odds ratios (OR), and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI), were estimated through multivariate logistic regression models.

resultsThe most frequently detected PCB congeners were 138, 170, 180 and 149 (detected in 40-77% of controls). The OR for the sum of all 17 PCB congeners was 1.20 (95% CI 0.50-2.92). In categorical analysis no consistent association was found for individual congeners and for groups based on Wolff's classification or the degree of chlorination. For continuous estimates, borderline positive associations emerged for Wolff's groups 2A (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.97-1.55), 2B (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.00-1.77, and 3 (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.96-1.49), for moderately (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.96-1.51) and highly (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.99-1.41) chlorinated PCBs, and for congeners 170 (OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.98-1.63), 180 (OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.97-1.64) and 138 (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.02-2.04). DISCUSSION: Most associations between PCBs and STS risk were not significant, but, given the limited sample size, we cannot exclude moderate associations.

Indexed as

Environmental PollutantsPolychlorinated BiphenylsSarcomaSoft Tissue NeoplasmsCase-Control StudiesHumansItalyEnvironmental PollutantsPolychlorinated Biphenyls

Identifiers

PMID31659991
PMCPMC7810016
OpenAlexW2982303525

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.