40 years of results

• 1971 > Start of the experimental project on vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), a compound used for the production of polyvinyl plastic (PVC).
• 1973 > Announcement to the scientific community that VCM is a multipotential carcinogen, which causes, amongst others, a specific tumour: angiosarcoma of the liver.
• 1975-80 > Communication then publication of data on the carcinogenicity of several industrial mega-compounds, such as plastic monomers and chlorinated solvents.
• 1977 > Publication of the preliminary results indicating for the first time in rodents that benzene is a carcinogen.
• 1982 > Irving J. Selikoff, Cesare Maltoni, Sheldon Samuels, Myron Mehlman and other eminent scientists establish the Collegium Ramazzini. Bentivoglio Castle is chosen as the site of the Secretariat General.
• 1985 > First international conference of the Collegium Ramazzini in Bologna on “Living in a chemical world”, attended by more than 400 scientists from a number of countries.
• 1986 > Start of a new line of research aiming to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of medicines for the chemoprevention of tumours, in particular of breast cancer in women.
• 1987 > Start of a major experimental project to evaluate the carcinogenicity of various types of fuels. For the first time it was shown that formaldehyde is a multipotential carcinogen.
• 1991 > After the Chernobyl disaster, a mega-experiment was begun, to study the carcinogenic effects of low doses of ionizing radiation.
• 1993 > First demonstration that methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenated additive that substitutes lead in “green petrols”, causes leukemias and testicular tumours.
• 1995 > The results of studies on fuels are made public in Washington during the second international conference of the Collegium Ramazzini on “Preventive Strategies for Living in a Chemical World”.
• 1998 > Expansion of a vast project, already in progress for some time, for studying the constituents, additives and contaminants of food products.
• 2001 > Start of an extensive experimental research programme to study the potential carcinogenic risks associated with exposure to electromagnetic waves from electricity and mobile phone technology.
• 2002 > Publication in the Annals of the NYAS of the proceedings of the international conference held in New York to commemorate the work of Cesare Maltoni and colleagues. The volume includes the results on the carcinogenicity of methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol, tert-amyl-methyl ether (TAME), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), formaldehyde, vinyl acetate and pesticides (mancozeb).
• 2004 > Publication of the results on the carcinogenicity of fluoro-edenite, a fibre present in Etna lava rock, used since the ’70s in construction in Biancavilla (Catania province), where excessive mesotheliomas not correlatable to exposure to asbestos had been observed in the population.
• 2005 > Communication of the first results on the carcinogenicity of aspartame. Third international conference of the Collegium Ramazzini in Bologna on “Framing the Future in Light of the Past: Living in a Chemical World”. The Cancer Research Centre is named after its founder, Professor Cesare Maltoni.
• 2006 > Publication in the Annals of the NYAS of the results for Aspartame, Coca-Cola and Arsenic. The carcinogenicity of Aspartame is confirmed by further studies, subsequently published in Environmental Health Perspectives (2007) and the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2010).
• 2010 > Publication of the preliminary results of the experimental study on very low frequency electromagnetic waves (50Hz) combined with gamma radiation, which reveals an increase in malignant breast tumours.
• 2011 > Publication of the results of the study on the sweetener that is an alternative to aspartame: sucralose, which highlight an increase in leukemias in male mice treated. This year also brings the publication of the results of a mega-experiment on low dose ionizing radiation, where an increase in tumours at different sites was observed even at low doses. The Ramazzini Institute, 10 years after his premature death, remembers Cesare Maltoni, whose teaching is a pillar of modern oncology.
• 2013 > Publication of the first results on the carcinogenicity of dusts from the World Trade Center that show an increase in tumours and pulmonary precancerous lesions.
• 2015> Publications of the results for different Windows of Susceptibility related to the risk of mammary cancer in female rats treated with Endocrine Disruptive chemicals. The CMCRC staff is involved in multiple projects of research with the National Toxicology Program /NIEHS/US, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore /US. The forth edition of Living in a Chemical World international Conference has been held in Carpi during the Annual Ramazzini Days.