High concentrations of suspended particulates commonly found in the air we breathe in cities can significantly increase the risk of breast cancer. This is revealed in one of the most high-profile surveys presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress, where dozens of leading cancer experts from across the continent gather in Madrid between this week and next week.
Microparticles, known as PM2.5, are particles about a hundred times smaller in diameter than a human hair that float in the atmosphere. Their main sources are human activities, especially diesel vehicle exhaust and emissions from homes, factories and chimneys. Power plants burning wood and fossil fuels.
PM2.5 is considered the deadliest element in pollution around cities because of its extremely small size, which can easily penetrate the lungs and alveoli and enter the bloodstream, causing or exacerbating respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) and increased likelihood of stroke or heart disease. They are blamed for tens of thousands of emergencies and hospitalizations every year, especially among children and the elderly, and thousands of deaths in Spain alone.
Science has now established that cancer must be included in the list of serious health hazards. Research completed last year by Charles Swanton of the Francis Crick Institute in London showed that excessive breathing of particulates can trigger lung cancer in non-smokers. The study, led by Béatrice Fervers, a researcher at the León Bérard Cancer Center in France, now shows that PM2.5 plays the same role as a related risk factor, but for breast tumors.
Oncologists call on EU to lower current legal limits for PM2.5 by a fifth to protect health
Fervers’ work included comparing exposure to air pollutants at home and in the workplace among nearly 2,500 women diagnosed with breast cancer over a 21-year period from 1990 to 2011, compared with nearly 3,000 other French women who did not have breast cancer. Compare. disease. The study concluded that the risk of developing such tumors increases by 28% when exposure to suspended particulates increases by 10 micrograms per cubic meter, which is roughly equivalent to the PM2 present in urban cores or urban cores. 5 Differences between average concentrations. in a rural setting.
The researchers also found that women exposed to larger suspended particles (PM10) or nitrogen dioxide emitted from tailpipes had an increased risk, but the risk was much smaller. Indeed, the scientific team now hopes to complete an analysis of the damage air pollution may have on the development of this tumor by studying exposure to these toxins on the way to work, suspecting that this may hide a significant increase in risk.
Charles Swanton attaches great importance to the results of this study and believes it is important to study whether contamination allows pre-existing mutated breast tissue cells to promote tumor growth, “possibly through a process similar to what we see in non-smoking breast patients.” Inflammatory processes observed in cancer. “Lung cancer”.
Jean-Yves Blay, Director of Public Policy at ESMO, stressed the relevance of the two experts’ findings and called on health authorities to act accordingly. “There is now strong epidemiological and biological evidence linking PM2.5 exposure and cancer, so we have strong clinical and economic reasons to reduce pollution to prevent cancer.”
In fact, oncologists have issued a formal “urgent appeal” to the EU to lower the limit to one-fifth of the current limit in light of evidence that particulate matter is highly dangerous to health. Permissible PM2.5 concentrations in cities in 27 member states.
european negotiations
ESMO, aligned with a majority of the European Parliament and the World Health Organization, is in talks with other European agencies to agree on reforms to the air quality directive. The European Parliament is trying to persuade the European Commission and Council to agree to lower the upper limit on the average annual concentration of PM2.5 from the current 25 micrograms per cubic meter to 5 micrograms. This is a more ambitious target than originally proposed by the EU. The European Commission aims to lower the maximum legal threshold for particles in cities from 25 micrograms to 10 micrograms by 2030.
“We have a responsibility to drive this change not just for the people of Europe, but for people around the world, where pollution conditions vary greatly,” Bligh said. He believes that by backing our demands with solid scientific evidence , we are providing a new dimension in public health policy. A representative of European oncologists said: “The work is not done yet and change will not happen overnight, but we are moving in the right direction. “