Abuja: The Union for International Cancer Control has revealed that long-term exposure to air pollution significantly increases the risk of developing and dying from cancer.
The union said that this underscored an urgent need for stronger environmental and public health policies.
The finding is contained in a new global report titled “Clean Air in Cancer Control: An Overview of the Evidence,” released on Monday with support from Clean Air Fund.
The report showed that prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) raises the risk of developing cancer by 11 per cent and cancer-related death by 12 per cent, with particularly sharp increases for liver, colorectal, and breast cancers.
The sharpest increases were for liver and colorectal cancers, and mortality risk from breast cancer rose by 20 per cent.
It said that the mortality rate also rose by 14 per cent for liver cancer and 12 per cent for lung cancer.
Exposure to larger particles (PM10) was associated with a 10 per cent higher risk of developing cancer and a 13 per cent increased risk of lung cancer death.
Cary Adams, UICC CEO, stated that although progress has been made in reducing global cancer deaths, air pollution poses an ongoing, silent threat that disproportionately affects women, children, and people living in poverty.
“We have made huge strides in reducing deaths from cancer, but polluted air is silently undermining that progress.
Adams highlighted that air pollution is a risk people cannot opt out of and that it affects vulnerable groups—women, children, and the impoverished—more severely.
The report further highlighted that women and children, especially those exposed to smoke from solid fuels used for cooking and heating, face heightened risks.
It added that women exposed to household air pollution have a 69 per cent higher risk of developing lung cancer, as well as elevated risks for other cancer types.
The burden, it said, is heaviest in low- and middle-income countries, where limited resources to tackle pollution and access to timely cancer care compound existing health inequalities.
The report estimated that ambient air pollution contributes to about 434,000 lung cancer deaths globally each year.
Nina Renshaw, Head of Health at the Clean Air Fund, called for urgent government action to address the health crisis, stressing that cleaner air is essential to cancer prevention and improving survival, and that without it, decades of cancer research and treatment progress could be undermined.
“Cleaner air is essential to both cancer prevention and improving survival.
Renshaw added that decades of investment in cancer research and treatment are at risk without cleaner air.
Renshaw urged governments to enforce emission standards, transition to clean energy, and integrate air quality targets into national cancer control strategies.
The report also identified proven interventions such as cleaner energy adoption, improved urban planning, stricter transport and industrial emission controls, and expanded air quality monitoring as key to reducing exposure.
It said that while more than 140 countries had air quality standards, only about one-third effectively enforce them.
The report was commissioned by UICC, with research conducted by The George Institute for Global Health, synthesising findings from 42 studies published between 2019 and 2024.
It warned that without decisive action, rising air pollution could undermine global efforts to curb cancer, particularly in developing countries already facing fragile health systems.
