Link found between air pollution and oral cancer

Link found between air pollution and oral cancer

The Times reports that exposure to air pollution has been linked to a raised risk of developing oral cancer in the first study of its kind. Higher levels of small particles in air pollution were linked to a 43% greater chance of having the disease diagnosed, it found. Campaigners said that the study, published online in the Journal of Investigative Medicine, underlined the urgent need to tackle air pollution.

Cases of oral cancer are increasing in many parts of the world. Over the past 20 years rates have risen by 71% in Britain, according to Cancer Research UK. About 5,300 men and 2,500 women a year have oral cancer diagnosed and about 2,500 die. Smoking, drinking and the human papilloma virus are risk factors. Researchers set out to establish whether air pollutants could play a part and used health records of 482,659 men in Taiwan aged 40 and older to look for links. Using data at air quality monitoring stations they found that a high level of PM2.5, tiny particulate matter in pollution, increased the risk of a mouth cancer diagnosis.

PM2.5 refers to matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, about 3 per cent of the width of a human hair. It can travel through lungs into the bloodstream and has already been linked to lung and cardiovascular disease. The London Air Quality Network at King’s College London said the average PM2.5 level for the last year was 13 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3), but they had recorded levels as high as 192 ug/m3. In the study men exposed to levels above 40.37 ug/m3 were 43 per cent more likely to have mouth cancer diagnosed than those exposed to levels below 26.74 ug/m3. The British annual limit for fine particles is 25 ug/m3 and the World Health Organisation has a target of 10 ug/m3.

The researchers, from Asia University and Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan, emphasised that as an observational study there was no clear mechanism to explain how pollutants contribute to the development of mouth cancer. Exposure to heavy metals or emissions from petrochemical plants have been implicated. Some PM2.5 components include arsenic, nickel and chromium, as well as other known carcinogens. The researchers said that their findings “add to the growing evidence on the adverse effects of PM2.5 on human health”.

Georgina Hill, from Cancer Research UK, said: “We know that air pollution can increase the risk of lung cancer. But less is known about its effect on other cancer types. Levels of air pollution are much higher in Taiwan than in the UK, so more research is needed to see if this link applies in the UK too.”

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