Environmental Pollution as a Cause of Papillary Fibroelastoma: Hints for a New Etiological Hypothesis?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1532/HSF98.2011-1020Abstract
Background: Environmental pollution has adverse human health effects, mostly on the respiratory tract but also on the cardiovascular system. Papillary fibroelastomas are exceedingly rare primary cardiac tumors; their pathologic origin remains still elusive.
Case Report: This is a brief report on 3 patients referred for surgical treatment of papillary fibroelastomas in the last 6 months. All patients were born, lived, and worked in a narrow region in Campania that is under active monitoring because of high rates of environmental pollution.
Conclusions: Known mechanisms of cardiovascular damage generated by environmental pollution are cross linked with described papillary fibroelastomas' etiological cascade. Evidence is suggested for a common origin. These results provide intriguing but inconclusive insights into pathophysiological pathways that may link exposure to environmental pollution and development of papillary fibroelastomas.
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