©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2019; 25(33): 4885-4891
Published online Sep 7, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i33.4885
Published online Sep 7, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i33.4885
Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride and liver diseases
Ugo Fedeli, Paolo Girardi, Epidemiological Department, Azienda Zero, Padova 35131, Italy
Giuseppe Mastrangelo, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Padova 35128, Italy
Author contributions: Fedeli U, Girardi P, Mastrangelo G reviewed the literature and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the Authors have no conflict of interest related to the manuscript.
Corresponding author: Ugo Fedeli, MD, Senior Scientist, Epidemiological Department, Azienda Zero, Veneto Region, Passaggio Gaudenzio 1, Padova 35131, Italy. ugo.fedeli@azero.veneto.it
Telephone: +39-49-8778542 Fax: +39-49-8778235
Received: March 26, 2019
Peer-review started: March 26, 2019
First decision: May 30, 2019
Revised: June 10, 2019
Accepted: June 25, 2019
Article in press: June 26, 2019
Published online: September 7, 2019
Processing time: 165 Days and 12.8 Hours
Peer-review started: March 26, 2019
First decision: May 30, 2019
Revised: June 10, 2019
Accepted: June 25, 2019
Article in press: June 26, 2019
Published online: September 7, 2019
Processing time: 165 Days and 12.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) causes chronic liver disease, liver angiosarcoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma. VCM exposure has a synergistic effect with other known risk factors of liver diseases such as alcohol consumption and chronic viral infection. Further research is warranted to assess the risk of liver cancer at low levels of exposure and to investigate the patterns of risk with time since exposure.