Researchers from Vancouver, British Columbia today examine the effect of duration of past exposure to air pollution with lung cancer diagnosis in new research presented at the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer 2022.
Researchers from Vancouver, British Columbia today examine the effect of duration of past exposure to air pollution with lung cancer diagnosis in new research presented at the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer 2022.
In 2013, the International Agency of Research on Cancer classified outdoor air pollution and particulate matter of 2.5 micrograms/meter3 (PM 2.5) in outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans, but the effects of air pollution exposure may take 15 to 20 years to be reflected in the lung adenocarcinoma incidence rate. To assess the connection between pollution and lung cancer diagnosis, Renelle Myers, BC Cancer, in Vancouver, B.C. compared the cumulative three-year versus 20-year exposure in females with newly diagnosed lung cancer who have never smoked.
Dr. Myers and her colleagues invited Vancouver-area women with lung cancer who had never smoked to participate in the study. The researchers collected detailed information on the patients’ age, sex, race, country of birth, age of arrival in Canada (for foreign born Canadians), their occupation, family history of lung cancer, and secondhand smoke exposure. A detailed residential history from birth to cancer diagnosis for residences within Canada, and prior residences outside of Canada (for foreign born immigrants) were recorded. This geographical data included street and city address with postal codes, which allowed accurate linking of residential locations to satellite-derived PM 2.5 exposure data that were available from 1996 onwards. Cumulative exposure to PM 2.5 was quantified with a high-spatial resolution global exposure model. The magnitude of three-years versus 20-years exposure were compared.
Read more at: International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
Renelle Myers, BC Cancer, in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo Credit: Renelle Myers, BC Cancer, in Vancouver, B.C.)
