The Regional Operating Centre (COR) of the Veneto Region is located at the Epidemiological Department - Azienda Zero in Padova and it collaborates with the Local Health Units’ Services for Prevention, Hygiene and Safety in the Workplace (SPISAL).
The Mesothelioma Register of the Veneto Region identifies incident cases of Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) in residents of the Veneto Region, and analyzes the professional, residential and environmental history in order to identify modalities of asbestos exposure.
The procedures for identifying, collecting, defining, classifying, and coding cases and patients’ stories of exposure to asbestos are defined by national guidelines.
The diagnosis of mesothelioma is particularly difficult due to the complex features of this disease (low incidence, difficult histological definition, etc.); that is why a reference protocol was developed to classify cases by level of diagnostic certainty.
The occupational history of each patient with mesothelioma is assessed by means of a standard questionnaire administered directly to the individuals affected (if still alive), or to their relatives. To gather data relating to any history of exposure to asbestos, the Registry collaborates with the SPISAL.
The analysis of the patient’s professional history, together with information on lifestyle and residential history, is conducted in accordance with a specific national protocol: the standard classification including different levels enables to asses, according to homogeneous criteria, the presence (or absence) of asbestos exposure and to assign each case to various levels of probability of asbestos exposure.