How everyday objects are speeding up the spread of cancer
‘The findings scare me, and I hope it scares other people too.'
Microplastics in the body could make cancer more aggressive and cause it to spread faster, a new study shows.
Micro- and nanoplastics, tiny particles that can be ingested or inhaled, have not only been found all over the world – including in fresh Antarctic snow – but also throughout the body, including the brain, heart and lungs. Microplastics have also been found in placentas.
Now, research by leading cancer scientist Professor Lukas Kenner has shown how cells that come into contact with plastic particles smaller than 0.25 micrometres – a micrometre is 0.0001 millimitres – were more likely to migrate, potentially leading to secondary tumours, or metastasis.
‘The findings scare me, and I hope it scares other people too,’ said Professor Kenner, a researcher and deputy director at the University of Vienna.
He added that the continued breakdown of plastic in the environment has created an ‘avalanche of plastic coming towards us’.
Professor Kenner and his team also found that while plastics in cells did not interrupt cell division, they appeared unable to eject the particles, instead passing them on.
‘The study’s findings are an indication that plastic not only resides in tumour cells but also accelerates the outgrowth of these cells,’ said Professor Kenner. ‘This is being investigated further but the evidence we have already on plastic’s health impact is startling and requires the immediate attention of policymakers globally.
‘Governments and businesses must fund research into the impact of plastic on human health and work to eradicate this dangerous pollutant from our daily lives.’
The digestive tract studied by the Austrian researchers serves as the most common entry point for micro- and nanoplastics, although a study last year revealed humans inhale ‘a credit card’s-worth’ of tiny plastic particles every week.
Professor Kenner also highlighted the risk to unborn children, with microplastics in the placenta being passed to embryos.
The University of Vienna is now working to establish to what extent plastic particles promote the formation of tumours throughout the body.
What are microplastics?
To keep it simple: microplastics are tiny particles of plastic.
US-based organisation NOAA – aka the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration – defines microplastic as being 5mm in diameter or less, or ‘the size of a sesame seed’.
There are also two types of microplastics: primary and secondary.
Primary microplastics are those produced directly as microparticles, such as microbeads – the little plasticky balls you used to get sometimes in toothpaste and cosmetics like exfoliating skincare gels and scrubs.
These have already been banned in the UK, US and Canada.
Another example is a microfibre from polyester, nylon or acrylic clothing.
Secondary microplastics refer to larger plastic products that have broken down into smaller pieces – such as plastic bottles, food packaging and tyres.
Microplastics are harmful to both the environment and humans. They have been found across the planet and throughout our bodies, with a growing number of scientific studies revealing the harm they can cause.
They are also almost impossible to avoid. Plastic production has increased enormously since the 1950s, and plastics take hundreds of years to decompose.
In 2023, 500 million tonnes of plastic were produced in 2023, with 16,000 known chemical ingredients – many of which have been associated with hormone disruption, decreased fertility and heart disease.
Maria Westerbos, from the Plastic Soup Foundation and Plastic Health Council, said: ‘There should be no doubt in the fact that plastic is killing us in the long term. We have seen study upon study demonstrating the stark reality that we must work towards a future free from toxic plastic with immediate effect.’
Next week, negotiations will continue in Ottawa, Canada, in a bid to create a UN Global Plastics Treaty, designed to transform how the world produces and disposes of plastics.
‘The Global Plastics Treaty represents a milestone moment in the trajectory of the plastics crisis,’ said Ms Westerbos. ‘But change will only happen if policymakers remove their heads from the sand and listen to the science.’
The study is published in the journal Chemosphere.