Inflammation could drive lung cancer risk linked to air pollution - Science

Inflammation could drive lung cancer risk linked to air pollution | Science | AAAS
Air pollutants have long been linked to lung cancer, but researchers knew little about how exactly these molecules can produce tumors and lead to the progression of lung cancer, especially in combination with genetic mutations. In a new study published in Nature this week, scientists analyzed the effects of different kinds of air pollution particles across more than 30,000 people in four countries. They found that in humans who have mutations to a gene known as EGFR that has been linked to lung cancer, exposure to air pollutants less than 2.5 microns in diameter boosted their chance of having lung cancer. When researchers exposed mice with a mutation that mimics this EGFR mutation to the same microscopic pollutants, the animals developed lung tumors at an abnormally high rate. The lungs of these mice also became inflamed, specifically immune cells called macrophages and an inflammatory molecule known as interleukin 1 beta, rushed into the lungs. Blocking this molecule using an antibody against interleukin 1 beta decreased lung cancer in these mice, so reducing inflammation may be a way to block the growth of lung tumors. The findings shine a light on how pollutants can nudge individuals with a genetic predisposition to lung cancer into developing the disease, possibly through inflammation, Nature’s News team reports.

Air pollutants have long been linked to lung cancer, but researchers knew little about how exactly these molecules can produce tumors and lead to the progression of lung cancer, especially in combination with genetic mutations. In a new study published in Nature this week, scientists analyzed the effects of different kinds of air pollution particles across more than 30,000 people in four countries. They found that in humans who have mutations to a gene known as EGFR that has been linked to lung cancer, exposure to air pollutants less than 2.5 microns in diameter boosted their chance of having lung cancer. When researchers exposed mice with a mutation that mimics this EGFR mutation to the same microscopic pollutants, the animals developed lung tumors at an abnormally high rate. The lungs of these mice also became inflamed, specifically immune cells called macrophages and an inflammatory molecule known as interleukin 1 beta, rushed into the lungs. Blocking this molecule using an antibody against interleukin 1 beta decreased lung cancer in these mice, so reducing inflammation may be a way to block the growth of lung tumors. The findings shine a light on how pollutants can nudge individuals with a genetic predisposition to lung cancer into developing the disease,