Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in London found a link between pollution and lung cancer, and a possible solution to prevent it.
Through a series of human and animal studies, the researchers found that mutated cells are not always enough to develop cancer. An external trigger, such as smoking or, as the researchers discovered, pollutant particles, is often needed to trigger cancer.
One in 10 cases of lung cancer in the UK can be attributed to pollution. Crick researchers were able to prevent lung cancer in mice by medicating them with an interleukin-1-beta drug.
The results are a double breakthrough for both understanding the driving force of lung cancer and a possible way of preventing it, and the impact of air pollution on human health.