A major scientific review may have found a possible cause of many of the cancers for which genetics, diet and lifestyle cannot explain. After reviewing more than 3, studies on microplastics , researchers concluded that these tiny toxins are linked to lung and colon cancer, as well as other lung diseases and infertility.
That could be significant because, unlike dozens of cancers that are in decline, colon cancers are rising, especially among young people who are not normally at risk. Likewise, lung cancers not caused by tobacco are also on the rise, a trend which has also baffled experts. Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5mm in diameter that are released by consumer goods like food containers, clothes toys, packaging, cigarette filters and tires.
They've contaminated the air we breathe, food we eat and water we drink and have been found in virtually every major human organ, where they cause widespread inflammation when the immune system recognizes it as a foreign invader.
This can cause a myriad of medical problems, including tissue damage and inflammation in the liver and heart, and over time, accumulation in the body can lead to irreversible damage. The California researchers concluded exposure to microplastics is 'suspected' to play a role in colon cancer, ovarian function, sperm quality and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.
Researchers have linked microplastics to lung and colon cancer, as well as other lung diseases and infertility stock image. Californian Raquel left was 28 when doctors diagnosed her with stage four colon cancer. Alabama native Evan White right was diagnosed with colon cancer at He died four years later, just weeks before his wedding.
