A groundbreaking study has revealed a significant connection between exposure to fine particle air pollution and an increased risk of breast cancer among women.
This study, presented at the ESMO Congress 2023 in Madrid, Spain, is the first to consider the impact of both residential and workplace air pollution exposure on breast cancer risk.
The Study’s Findings
Professor Béatrice Fervers, Head of Prevention Cancer Environment Department at Léon Bérard Comprehensive Cancer Centre in France, explained that their data showed a notable association between long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution, both at home and at work, and the risk of developing breast cancer.
This contrasts with earlier research that primarily examined the impact of fine particle exposure in residential areas, often finding minimal or no effects on breast cancer risk.
The Research Details
The study examined 2,419 women with breast cancer and compared their exposure to air pollution in their homes and workplaces to that of 2,984 women without breast cancer between 1990 and 2011.
The results indicated that breast cancer risk increased by 28% with every 10 µg/m3 increase in fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution.
This increase is roughly equivalent to the difference in PM2.5 concentration typically observed between rural and urban European areas.
Smaller elevations in breast cancer risk were also observed in women exposed to higher levels of larger particle air pollution (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide.
The Mechanism of Action
Professor Charles Swanton, from the Francis Crick Institute in London, highlighted the potential health implications of these findings.
Fine particle pollutants can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and be absorbed into breast and other tissues. There is already evidence that air pollutants can alter breast tissue structure.
Further research will investigate whether pollutants enable the expansion of mutated breast tissue cells, possibly promoting tumor growth through inflammatory processes.
Public Policy and Recommendations
Professor Jean-Yves Blay, ESMO Director of Public Policy, emphasized the need for action in response to this evidence.
Following a proposal from the European Commission in October 2022 to reduce the PM2.5 air pollution limit from 25 µg/m3 to 10 µg/m3 by 2030, ESMO advocated for an even stricter limit of 5 µg/m3 in line with the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
The European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee adopted the lower limit in June 2023, demonstrating progress towards addressing air pollution and its associated health risks.
Subsequently, in September 2023, the European Parliament adopted the annual limit for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) at 5 µg/m³ in the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives.
ESMO’s Public Policy Director underscored the importance of supporting these requests with solid scientific evidence, highlighting that while change may not happen overnight, the push for cleaner air is a crucial step in the right direction to protect global health.
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