Outdoor Pollution Exposure Tied to Nonlung Cancers
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 10, 2023 -- Outdoor air pollution is tied to a higher risk for nonlung cancers in older adults, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in Environmental Epidemiology.
Yaguang Wei, Ph.D., from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues examined associations of 10-year exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with risks for breast, prostate, colorectal, and endometrial cancers. The analysis included 2.2 to 6.5 million Medicare beneficiaries for each cancer type (2000 to 2016).
The researchers found that exposures to PM2.5 and NO2 were associated with increased risks for colorectal and prostate cancers but were not associated with endometrial cancer risk. For breast cancer, NO2 was associated with a decreased risk, while the association for PM2.5 was inconclusive. Even at exposure levels below the new World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline, substantially larger associations were seen between most exposures and risks for all cancers, translating to hundreds to thousands of new cancer cases per year per unit increase in each exposure.
"The key message here is that U.S. air pollution standards are inadequate in protecting public health," senior author Joel Schwartz, Ph.D., also of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a statement. "Unless all of these standards become much, much stricter, air pollution will continue to result in thousands of unnecessary cases of multiple cancers each year."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2023
Read this next
Higher County-Level Prostate Cancer Screening Tied to Better Outcomes
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Higher county-level prevalence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is associated with lower odds of advanced disease, all-cause mortality, and...
Resistance Exercise Boosts Outcomes After Early-Stage Breast Cancer Surgery
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Early resistance exercise following surgery for early-stage breast cancer improves shoulder range of motion (ROM) and strength at one month and six months...
Neoadjuvant Nivolumab, Ipilimumab Safe for dMMR Colon Cancer
WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2024 -- Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab has an acceptable safety profile in patients with locally advanced mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) colon cancer...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.