Air Pollution and Incidence of Lung Cancer by Histological Type in Korean Adults: A Korean National Health Insurance Service Health Examinee Cohort Study

Abstract

Studies have reported associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and lung cancer. However, there have been inconsistent reports of such associations with lung cancer by histological type. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association of long-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter up to 10 μm (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with lung cancer incidence by histological subtype in South Korea. This population-based cohort study included 6,567,909 cancer-free subjects from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database for 2006–2007. We linked population data to Korea Central Cancer Registry data to confirm lung cancer incidence for 2006–2013. Individual exposures to PM10 and NO2 were assessed as five-year average concentrations predicted at subjects’ district-specific home addresses for 2002–2007. We divided these exposures into two categories based on the 75th percentile. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of lung cancer incidence for the upper 25% exposure compared to the low 75% by histological subtypes at diagnosis after adjusting for potential confounders. A total of 27,518 lung cancer were found between 2006 to 2013. The incidence of lung cancer was higher in males, smokers, drinkers and subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Overall, we did not find an increased risk of lung cancer with higher exposure to PM10 or NO2. However, high exposure to PM10 was associated with increased risk of adenocarcinoma in comparison with lower exposure in males and current smokers (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03–1.25). This study showed that long-term air pollution exposures were associated with an elevated risk of lung adenocarcinoma in male smokers in Korea.

Outdoor air pollution and cancer: An overview of the current evidence and public health recommendations

“…There was also an adverse association of ambient PM 10 concentrations and total lung cancer incidence in the EAGLE study (Environment and Genetics in Lung Cancer Etiology), consisting of 2099 cases and 2120 controls in the Lombardy Region of Italy (odds ratio [OR] per 10 µg/m 3 , 1.28; 95% CI, 0.95‐1.72), with somewhat stronger findings for squamous cell carcinoma (OR per 10 µg/m 3 , 1.44; 95% CI, 0.90‐2.29) 77 . In a large‐scale South Korean study that included 6.5 million participants from a national health insurance database, there was no overall association of either PM 10 or NO 2 concentrations and incident lung cancer, but there was an adverse association of PM 10 and adenocarcinoma in male smokers (HR per >60.9 vs <50.40 μg/m 3 , 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03‐1.25) 78 . Further research on air pollution and lung cancer by histologic type is needed.…”

Narrative review: association between lung cancer development and ambient particulate matter in never-smokers

“…Regarding the cancer types, several studies have shown a strong association between PM exposure and adenocarcinoma development (72,73). For each 10 µg/m 3 increase in ambient PM 2.5 , the risk of adenocarcinoma significantly increased (72).…”

Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway Activity Is Inhibited by Airborne Particulate Matter (PM10) through XPA Deregulation in Lung Epithelial Cells

“…PM is divided according to its aerodynamic diameters into PM 10 (≤10 µm), PM 2.5 (≤2.5 µm), and ultrafine particles (UFPs) (≤0.1 µm). PM 10 contains all of the smaller fractions, and all of them are deposited in the respiratory tract during breathing [5][6][7][8][9]. PM 10 is made up of a variety of metals, such as zinc, copper, and vanadium; biological agents, such as pollen, bacteria, and endotoxins; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), including benzo(g)perylene (BghiP), dibenzo(a)anthracene (DBahA), and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).…”