Los Angeles smog
Los Angeles smog - Air pollution can cause lung cancer in people who have never smoked, a new study led by researchers at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute has shown. T he research found that exposure to tiny pollutant particles that are 3% of the width of a human hair, called PM2.5, promotes the growth of cells carrying cancer-causing mutations in the lungs. Examining data from over 400,000 people, the scientists also found higher rates of other types of cancer in areas with high levels of PM2.5. They speculate that air pollution could promote the growth of cells carrying cancer-causing mutations elsewhere in the body. The research was presented by Professor Charles Swanton (UCL Cancer Institute and the Francis Crick Institute) at the ESMO Congress on 10 September. The research is part of the TRACERx Lung Study, a £14 million programme funded by Cancer Research UK to understand how lung cancer starts and evolves over time, in the hope of finding new treatments for the disease. An estimated 6,000 people who have never smoked die of lung cancer every year in the UK, some of which may be due to air pollution exposure.
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