Cleaning our polluted skies

摘要

In this issue of The Lancet Oncology, Ole Raaschou-Nielsen and colleagues report data from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE), a collaboration of more than 30 European cohort studies including almost 1 million participants, which aims to quantify the health risks of air pollution. The current report examined the link between ambient air pollution and lung cancer incidence in Europe. The researchers noted a higher risk of lung cancer, especially adenocarcinoma, with increasing exposure to coarse particulate matter (less than 10 mum in diameter; PM_(10)).and evidence of a raised risk with increasing exposure to fine particulate matter (less than 2.5 mu.m in diameter; PM_(25)). However, perhaps most alarmingly, their data suggest that the risk of lung cancer remains increased even at particulate matter concentrations below current European Union (EU) limits, challenging existing regulations on air quality.