London 10th Sep : Researchers have found a brand new method that uses very tiny pollutants in the air could cause lung cancer in those who have never been smokers,Particles that are linked to climate change can also trigger tumor-causing changes in the airways cells, they discovered which opens the way to new strategies to prevent lung cancer and treatment.
Researchers of the Francis Crick Institute and University College London which are supported by Cancer Research UK, presented the results at the “ESMO Congress 2022.”.
According to them, particles that are commonly found in the exhaust of vehicles and in the smoke that comes from fossil fuels are linked with NSCLC (NSCLC) risk and account for more than 250,000 lung cancer deaths worldwide each year.
“The identical particles in the air that result from the burning of fossil fuels, thereby accelerating climate change, directly impact the human health by triggering a vital and previously unnoticed cancer-causing pathway in lung cells.” They informed.
The chance of lung cancer resulting from air pollution is less than that of smokingcigarettes “but we can’t control the air we breathe”.
“Globally there are more people exposed to harmful amounts of air pollution than harmful chemicals in cigarettes and these latest data demonstrate the importance of dealing with health issues related to climate health to improving the quality of human health,” said Charles Swanton from the Francis Crick Institute.
The latest findings are built on human and lab research into mutations in the gene EGFR that are observed in around fifty percent of patients with lung cancer, even if they haven’t been smokers.
In an investigation of more than half a million people in England, South Korea and Taiwan exposure to higher levels of particulate matter in the air (PM) 2.5 millimetres (Im) in diameter was linked to a higher chance of NSCLC with EGFR mutations.
In laboratory studies researchers discovered that the same particles (PM2.5) caused rapid change in airway cells, which were mutated in EGFR as well as in another gene associated with lung cancer, called KRAS leading them to the cancer stem cell state.
“We discovered that mutations driving the car in EGFR and KRAS genes, typically seen in lung cancers actually exist in normal lung tissue , and are a probable result of the aging process,” said Swanton.
However, when the lung cells with these mutations were exposed to air pollutants, “we saw more cancers and they developed more quickly as compared to when the lung cells with these mutations were not exposed pollutants” which suggests that air pollution is a factor in the development of lung cancer in cells that have driver gene mutations.
“The next step is to find out the reasons why some lung cells with mutations develop cancer when exposed to chemicals whereas other aren’t,” said Swanton.
Tony Mok from Chinese University of Hong Kong Tony Mok, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who wasn’t involved in the study Tony Mok from Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the research is fascinating and interesting.
“It implies that we could inquire whether, in the future, it is possible to make use of lung scans to look for cancerous lung lesions in the lungs and attempt to treat them with treatments like interleukin-1I inhibitors.” Mok said.Mok.
“We aren’t sure yet if it is feasible to employ high-sensitivity EGFR testing on blood or other specimens to determine non-smokers with a predisposition to lung cancer and could be benefited from lung scanning and so discussions are still in the early stages of speculation,” he added.
na/
