More than 1,100 people a year in the UK are developing the most prevalent form of lung cancer as a result of air pollution, the Guardian can reveal.
Exposure to toxic air was attributed to 515 men and 590 women in the UK in 2022 getting adenocarcinoma – now the most dominant of the four main subtypes of lung cancer – an analysis by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency found.
The UK rates of adenocarcinoma cases linked to ambient particulate matter pollution were also higher than in the US and Canada, and four times higher than Finland, which had the lowest rates in northern Europe, according to the analysis.
It is the first time such figures have been compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Health experts, cancer charities and environmental campaigners said the UK findings were “devastating” and should serve as a “wake-up call” to ministers.
Paula Chadwick, the chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “This data is as equally shocking as it is important. We have always been aware that air pollution increases the risk of lung cancer, but we can now see how stark the impact truly is. This hard evidence must prompt action.”
Ministers must act to curb air pollution, Chadwick said. “Failure to do so will only see more lives devastated by lung cancer.”
Andrew Haines, a professor of environmental change and public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the data emphasised the “imperative” for the government to “address the ongoing impacts of air pollution on health with greater determination”.
Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at World Cancer Research Fund, said the toll of cancer cases caused by toxic air could “only be addressed by a concerted government effort to reduce air pollution”. She said: “We already know pollution is a risk factor for lung cancer, but these figures highlight just how important environmental causes can be when looking at cancer risk.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer incidence and cancer mortality worldwide. In 2022, about 2.5 million people were diagnosed with the disease. But the patterns of incidence by subtype have changed dramatically in recent decades.
Of the four main subtypes of lung cancer – adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small-cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma – adenocarcinoma has become the dominant subtype among both men and women, the IARC found.
Adenocarcinoma accounted for 45.6% of global lung cancer cases among men and 59.7% of global lung cancer cases among women in 2022. The respective figures were 39.0% and 57.1% in 2020.
Adenocarcinoma accounted for as much as 70% of lung cancer cases among never-smokers, the IARC said.
About 200,000 cases of adenocarcinoma were associated with exposure to air pollution in 2022, according to the IARC study, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
The largest burden of adenocarcinoma attributable to air pollution was found in east Asia. China’s incidence rates in 2022 were 6.15 cases per 100,000 men and 4.25 cases per 100,000 women, according to the IARC.
The UK rates of adenocarcinoma caused by toxic air were much lower than China (0.66 and 0.7) but still higher than the US (0.49 and 0.53) and Canada (0.38 and 0.41). The UK rates were four times higher than in Finland (0.16 and 0.12).
Lucy Clark, cancer intelligence manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “While tobacco remains the biggest cause of lung cancer in the UK, the disease can affect anyone, including people who’ve never smoked.
“This major study shows that air pollution causes hundreds of thousands of lung cancer cases every year across the world, and the highest rates are in east Asia. The data also suggests that the rates of lung cancer cases linked to air pollution in the UK are slightly higher than the US and Canada.
“To help people lead longer, healthier lives, the UK government must do more to reduce levels of air pollution and continue to tackle the harms of tobacco.”
Sarah Sleet, the chief executive of Asthma + Lung UK, said the IARC figures added to an “ever-growing body of evidence” showing the “devastating impact of air pollution on our health”. “Sadly, it’s not a shock to see the UK so high up in these depressing leagues tables of adenocarcinoma caused by air pollution.
“Yet still the government fails to take decisive action, even just last week giving the go ahead to an additional runway at Heathrow – which will undoubtedly increase air pollution – rather than setting stricter targets to protect people from the harms of air pollution.
Without stronger air pollution targets, the UK risked creating “another generation growing up breathing toxic air”, Sleet said.
Livi Elsmore, campaign manager at the Healthy Air Coalition, said the findings “must be a wake-up call” for ministers and called for “concerted government action” to clean up the air across the UK.
The government said it was determined to clean up the UK’s air to make it safe for everyone to breathe. A spokesperson added: “That’s why we are developing a comprehensive and ambitious clean air strategy, and we have launched a rapid review of the environmental improvement plan to make sure it is fit for purpose to deliver legally binding targets on improving air quality.”
