A new study has shown that not smokers can only get lung cancers, but even non-smokers are at risk of cancer because of air pollution.
Air pollutants could be lung cancer triggers.
According to the study, air pollutants such as traffic fumes can have the same effect on the lungs as cigarettes. In addition, the researchers said that the new study had unraveled how air pollution triggers lung cancer. For example, burning fossil fuels releases particles called particulate matter (PM2.5s), which are significantly smaller than human hair. These particles can get into the blood via the lungs and make them stick, triggering inflammation.
Diesel exhaust, tires, brake pads, and road dust produce these dangerous substances. The most prevalent kind of cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is associated with higher amounts.
The study was based on analyses of changes in the EGFR gene, which was found in almost half of the people that had never smoked. Nearly 500,000 people from South Korea, Taiwan, and England participated in the review.
Francis Crick Institute’s Professor Charles Swanton said that the same airborne particles that contribute to climate change by burning fossil fuels also have a significant but unrecognized influence on human health by increasing lung cancer risk.
PM2.5 causes changes leading to cell mutation
According to the researchers, PM2.5 can trigger fast changes in airway cells that causes EGFR mutation. The particles also changed the KRAS gene, a disease-related gene, causing them to become more like cancer stem cells. In addition, the group discovered that polluted air activates white blood cells, preventing lung cancer development.
Surprisingly, a third of non-smokers have pollution-related mutations. In small lung tissue sample tests, the researchers found KRAS and EGFR mutation in 30% and 18% of normal lung tissue samples, respectively. The researchers found that KRAS and EGFR gene driver mutations were common in the lungs. The study is significant because, in the future, it will be possible to do scans of the lungs to check for pre-cancerous lesions and try to reverse those using drugs like interleukin-1β inhibitors.
