Your environment may be one of the reasons why prostate cancer can develop.
New research has found that men who live in busy inner-city areas or close to main roads may be at increased risk of this.
Experts called for urgent action to tackle air pollution after evidence emerged that traffic and industrial fumes could be contributing to the disease, which kills 12,000 people a year in Britain.
The study, based on data from 220,000 men in Britain, found that those exposed to higher levels of pollution were 6.9 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer later than those who were not.
Researchers believe the biggest culprit is nitrate, or NO3, which comes from car exhaust. Although the precise mechanism is unclear, it is already known that nitrogen, a key component of NO3, can promote the growth of cancer cells.
The study is the latest to investigate the possible links between air pollution and prostate cancer.
Most have looked at the levels of tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5, which are much smaller than a human hair and can be inhaled deeply into the lungs.
These particles come from vehicle exhaust, industrial and agricultural emissions, and the combustion of domestic fuel in homes.
But in the new study, scientists also looked at the effects of five of the main components of PM2.5, including NO3, using data from 224,000 men with an average age of 58, who were followed for 13.7 years.
Of these, 5 percent were diagnosed with the disease and the researchers calculated how much pollution they had been exposed to based on their zip codes.
The results suggested that pollution was associated with a small increase in risk, and that NO3 contributed the largest effect.
Write about their studies in the Journal of Urologysaid the scientists from Beijing University in China: “Our findings suggest that ‘where you live’ matters beyond ‘who you are’ (genetics) and ‘what you do’ (lifestyle).”
“Our results highlight the urgent need to address the sources of nitrate emissions, especially traffic and agriculture, to reduce the disease,” the experts concluded.
