Public Health and Cancer Research

NYU Langone Health researchers report that prostate cancer tumors contained more than twice as much microplastic as nearby noncancerous prostate tissue in a small study presented Feb. 26 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. Analyzing prostate glands removed from 10 men with cancer, the team found plastic particles in 90% of tumor samples and 70% of benign samples, averaging about 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tumor tissue versus 16 micrograms in healthy tissue. The lab minimized contamination by swapping out common plastic tools for aluminum, cotton and other materials, and senior author Vittorio Albergamo called the work the first direct evidence linking microplastics to prostate cancer, while stressing that larger studies are needed. Outside oncologist David Sidransky cautioned that the presence of embedded plastic does not prove it causes cancer, noting tumors may simply accumulate circulating particles, and key questions remain about whether these fragments trigger DNA damage, inflammation or immune changes. With prostate cancer striking roughly one in eight U.S. men and prior work already showing microplastics in blood, organs and even placentas, the findings are likely to intensify scrutiny of plastic exposure and spur further research rather than immediate policy changes.