People With Lung Cancer Had Higher Levels of Microplastics in Their Lungs

For 100 people being examined for lung symptoms at a hospital in Greece, a bronchoscopy allowed doctors to look inside their airways with a slender camera. Doctors then flushed one section of each person’s lung with saline and collected the liquid, along with the cells and other material it carried.

When researchers analyzed the samples, they found 70 of the patients had microscopic pieces of plastic in the wash fluid, lung tissue, or both, according to the conference presentation.

Of the 100 patients, 50 were later diagnosed with lung cancer, and their samples contained microplastics more often and in greater quantities than samples from patients without cancer.

The results will be presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona,

“If we are breathing these particles in every day, we need to understand where they end up and whether they could be linked to disease,” said Ilias Dimeas, of University College Dublin and the University of Thessaly, in a press release.

More Microplastics in Lung Cancer Patients

Every patient provided a lung-wash sample, and doctors also removed a small piece of lung tissue from half of the participants. Researchers searched both types of samples for microplastics and tested a selection to identify the kinds of plastic present.

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Across the full set of samples, the team counted 232 particles. At least one sample tested positive for microplastics in 70 percent of the patients.

Combining each patient’s available lung-wash and tissue results showed that those with cancer were more likely to have microplastics and generally carried more particles. The pattern remained when researchers examined the lung-wash results separately. Microplastics appeared in 66 percent of patients with lung cancer, compared with 46 percent of those without it.

Read More: These Microbes Could Turn Plastic and Plant Waste into Ingredients for Protein-Rich Cookies

Plastic Particles Settled in Different Parts of the Lungs

Among patients who provided both samples, those with more microplastics in their lung-wash fluid tended to have fewer in their lung tissue, and vice versa.

Researchers said this could mean that microplastics collect unevenly throughout the lungs. Lung-wash samples capture particles from the airspaces, while tissue samples reveal particles lodged within the lung itself.

Tests performed on a selection of the particles most often identified polypropylene and polyethylene. Both plastics are common in packaging, textiles, household materials, and other consumer products.

Researchers Cannot Yet Explain the Connection

Finding more microplastics in people with lung cancer does not tell us which came first. The particles could potentially promote inflammation or affect other biological processes connected to cancer. Diseased lungs could also trap plastic differently after cancer has already developed.

Every participant was undergoing a bronchoscopy because of lung symptoms, meaning the comparison did not include a separate group of people with healthy lungs.

Professor Barbara Hoffmann of the University of Düsseldorf, who was not involved in the research, said scientists are only beginning to understand how microplastics might affect human health. She also emphasized that smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer and that air pollution is already known to cause lung cancer and contribute to other respiratory diseases.

Dimeas and his colleagues have started lab experiments examining how different plastics interact with lung cells. They are also analyzing samples from people with chronic respiratory diseases to investigate whether microplastics are connected to lung scarring or worsening disease. The experiments could help figure out whether plastic simply accumulates after lungs become damaged or whether the particles themselves can contribute to that damage.

This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.

Read More: 18-Year-Old Student Develops Biodegradable Plastic Designed to Break Down Microplastics in Soil and Water

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• This article references information from the European Respiratory Society Congress: Patients diagnosed with lung cancer found to have more microplastic in their lungs