Published : 08 Sep 2026, 03:27 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:48 AM
Lung cancer patients carry significantly higher concentrations of microplastics in their lungs than people without the disease, according to new research that adds to mounting concern over the health effects of plastic pollution.
A study presented at the European Respiratory Society found that 50 lung cancer patients in Greece had roughly 20 percent more microplastic particles in lung fluid samples than healthy individuals, reports The Independent.
Microplastics -- tiny fragments shed as larger plastic items break down -- have been detected across the environment and inside human bodies, including in blood, placentas, and now lung tissue.
Scientists believe the particles enter the lungs through the air people breathe.
"Our results suggest that inhaled microplastics can be found in the human lung more frequently than many people may realise," said respiratory physician Dr Ilias Dimeas of University College Dublin School of Medicine.
Researchers say the particles may drive inflammation or disrupt biological processes in ways that contribute to cancer development.
However, they acknowledge an alternative explanation -- that diseased lungs may simply trap and retain microplastics differently than healthy ones.
The American Cancer Society currently says there is insufficient evidence to confirm whether microplastics cause cancer or how.
Separate studies in recent years have, however, found microplastics present in lung and colon cancer tissue, as well as in prostate cancer tumours.
Lung cancer remains the world's leading cancer killer, responsible for around 20 percent of all cancer deaths globally.
Plastic pollution is expected to nearly triple by 2060, according to the United Nations.
