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. 2014 Apr;33(4):189-96.
doi: 10.5732/cjc.014.10028.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation of the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution: focus on China

Dana Loomis  1 , Wei Huang, Guosheng Chen
Affiliations

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation of the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution: focus on China

Dana Loomis et al. Chin J Cancer. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified outdoor air pollution and the particulate matter (PM) in outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans, as based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals and strong support by mechanistic studies. The data with important contributions to the evaluation are reviewed, highlighting the data with particular relevance to China, and implications of the evaluation with respect to China are discussed. The air pollution levels in Chinese cities are among the highest observed in the world today and frequently exceed health-based national and international guidelines. Data from high-quality epidemiologic studies in Asia, Europe, and North America consistently show positive associations between lung cancer and PM exposure and other indicators of air pollution, which persist after adjustment for important lung cancer risk factors, such as tobacco smoking. Epidemiologic data from China are limited but nevertheless indicate an increased risk of lung cancer associated with several air pollutants. Excess cancer risk is also observed in experimental animals exposed to polluted outdoor air or extracted PM. The exposure of several species to outdoor air pollution is associated with markers of genetic damage that have been linked to increased cancer risk in humans. Numerous studies from China, especially genetic biomarker studies in exposed populations, support that the polluted air in China is genotoxic and carcinogenic to humans. The evaluation by IARC indicates both the need for further research into the cancer risks associated with exposure to air pollution in China and the urgent need to act to reduce exposure to the population.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. The national annual levels of respirable particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in China, 2003-2012.
Data source: China Statistic Yearbook 2004-2013. The national levels are averaged from the annual levels of 31 provincial cities in China. The dotted line indicates the annual level of the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) Class II.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Estimated levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in China, 2010 as reported in the 2014 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Forest plot of the relative risk (RR) of lung cancer per 10 µm/m3 of PM2.5.
CI, confidence interval. Weights are from random effects analysis.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Relative risk of lung cancer in relation to average exposure to PM2.5 in studies included in the IARC evaluation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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