NEW YORK — In a concerning new pilot study, researchers have found direct evidence of microplastics accumulating within human prostate glands, with significantly higher concentrations located directly inside cancerous tumors.
Data scheduled for presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium reveals that fragments of plastic were found in nine out of ten patients with prostate cancer.
A Startling Contrast The study, led by Dr. Stacy Loeb of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, found that tumor samples contained an average of 2.5 times more plastic than the surrounding healthy tissue. Specifically, the tumors contained about 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue, compared to just 16 mcg/g in noncancerous sections of the prostate.
“Our pilot study provides important evidence that microplastic exposure may be a risk factor for prostate cancer,” Dr. Loeb said in a statement.
While previous early data has hinted at links between microplastics and conditions like heart disease and dementia, this research offers some of the first direct clinical evidence connecting these ubiquitous environmental pollutants to prostate cancer.
