Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Assessment of cancer risk of microplastics enriched with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Researchers assessed the cancer risk of microplastics originating from e-waste that had adsorbed carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The study found that microplastics effectively captured PAHs through adsorption and estimated the probable cancer risk from human ingestion of PAH-enriched microplastics, suggesting this exposure pathway warrants further health risk evaluation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 257 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics-sorbed phenanthrene and its derivatives are highly bioaccessible and may induce human cancer risks

Researchers studied how microplastics sorb phenanthrene and its derivatives, then measured the bioaccessibility and potential cancer risk of these contaminant-laden particles. The study found that microplastic-sorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were highly bioaccessible during simulated digestion, suggesting they may pose meaningful human health risks when ingested.

2022 Environment International 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Comment on “cancer may be induced by microplastics-sorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons?”

This commentary examines the plausibility of microplastics acting as carriers of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that could induce oral cancer, reviewing evidence on microplastic ingestion, tissue distribution, and the genotoxic potential of sorbed compounds. The author calls for mechanistic studies to clarify cancer risk pathways.

2024 Oral Oncology Reports
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Polyciclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and Microplastics

Researchers measured five cancer-linked PAH compounds in water samples and found that microplastics can bind these chemicals, potentially concentrating them. This suggests microplastics may act as carriers of carcinogenic compounds in drinking water and aquatic environments.

2021 Scientific Repository of the National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge)
Article Tier 2

A review of human and animals exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Health risk and adverse effects, photo-induced toxicity and regulating effect of microplastics

This review examines the health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toxic chemicals from burning fossil fuels, and how microplastics can change their behavior in the environment. Microplastics absorb PAHs on their surface, potentially carrying these cancer-causing chemicals into organisms that ingest the contaminated particles. The combined toxicity of PAHs attached to microplastics may be greater than either pollutant alone, increasing risks to both wildlife and human health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 403 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics pollution and human health: How plastics can induce carcinogenesis to humans?

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics enter the human body through food, water, and air, and how they may contribute to cancer development. Common plastic types like polystyrene and PVC, along with toxic chemicals they carry such as PAHs and PCBs, have been linked to DNA damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation, all of which can promote cancer. The paper highlights that while the evidence is growing, more research is needed to understand the full cancer risk from chronic microplastic exposure.

2022 Chemosphere 367 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between polyaromatic hydrocarbons and microplastics: Environmental mechanisms and ecotoxicological impacts

This review examines how microplastics interact with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a class of toxic organic pollutants found throughout the environment. Evidence indicates that microplastics can adsorb these pollutants and alter their availability and toxicity to living organisms, with effects depending on plastic type, pollutant properties, and environmental conditions. The study identifies critical gaps in long-term exposure research and calls for standardized testing methods to better assess these combined risks.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface water and sediment of the Bay of Bengal coastal area, India: sources, pathway and ecological risk

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in surface water and sediment along two Bay of Bengal coastal beaches in India and found microplastics present at both sites. They also detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a group of harmful chemicals, adsorbed onto the microplastic surfaces at concentrations that varied by particle shape. The study highlights that microplastics in coastal waters act as carriers for toxic organic pollutants, potentially increasing ecological risks in the marine environment.

2024 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicities of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Aquatic Animals

This review examines the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic animals, including their effects on hormones, tissue damage, and cancer risk. Researchers highlight the growing concern about microplastics acting as carriers for these harmful chemicals in water environments. The study emphasizes the need to address PAH pollution in aquatic ecosystems, particularly as microplastics may increase organisms' exposure to these toxic compounds.

2020 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 595 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and cancer

This review examines evidence linking microplastics to cancer risk, noting that microplastics have been detected at higher concentrations in human tumor tissues than adjacent healthy tissue, and that they can act as vectors for carcinogens while inducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and genotoxicity.

2025 European Journal of Cancer Prevention
Article Tier 2

Bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their human health risks depend on the characteristics of microplastics in marine organisms of Sanggou Bay, China

This study found that the type and characteristics of microplastics present in marine organisms from Sanggou Bay, China, influenced how much of the harmful chemical pollutant PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) accumulated in their tissues. Smaller, more degraded microplastics carried more PAHs into organisms, raising the human health risk from eating contaminated seafood and highlighting that microplastics act as vehicles for other toxic chemicals.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption, Extraction, and Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Environmentally Weathered Microplastics, Particulate Organic Matter, Sediment, and Fish Species in the Lavaca-Matagorda Bay System

Researchers studied how microplastics carry cancer-causing chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Lavaca-Matagorda Bay system in Texas. They found PAHs attached to microplastics, sediment, and in the digestive systems of three commercially important fish species. This shows that microplastics can act as vehicles for toxic chemicals in coastal waters, potentially affecting the safety of fish that people eat.

2025 Environment & Health 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microscopic menace: exploring the link between microplastics and cancer pathogenesis

This review examines the growing evidence linking microplastic exposure to cancer development in humans. Microplastics can accumulate in the body and trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and other biological changes associated with tumor growth. While more clinical research is needed, the review highlights that microplastics should be taken seriously as a potential factor in cancer risk.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination: A Rising Environmental Crisis With Potential Oncogenic Implications

This review examines how microplastics detected in human tissues — blood, placenta, and organs — may act as vectors for carcinogens, including adsorbed heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, and discusses emerging evidence linking MP accumulation to oncogenic processes.

2025 Cureus
Systematic Review Tier 1

From Exposure to Oncogenesis: the Role of Microplastics and Associated Pollutants in Cancer - a Literature Review

This literature review examined the growing evidence linking microplastic exposure to cancer development. Microplastics have been found in human lung, liver, and colon tissue, and research suggests they may promote cancer through chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and by carrying known carcinogens like heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants into the body.

2025 International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science
Article Tier 2

Do microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) directly contribute to human carcinogenesis?

This review examines whether microplastics and nanoplastics could directly contribute to cancer development in humans. Evidence from lab and animal studies shows these particles can cause DNA damage, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupt important cancer-related signaling pathways. While a direct causal link to human cancer has not been proven yet, the review argues that microplastics should be considered potential cancer-promoting agents that warrant urgent further research.

2025 Environmental Pollution 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons bound to microplastics enhance their bioaccumulation and toxicity, inducing mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in lung epithelium

Researchers tested the toxicity of polystyrene microbeads loaded with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on lung epithelial cells and found that PAH-bound microplastics were significantly more cytotoxic than either contaminant alone. The contaminated microplastics enhanced bioaccumulation of the PAHs in cells and caused mitochondrial damage and programmed cell death. The findings suggest that microplastics may act as carriers that increase the harmful effects of hydrophobic pollutants on lung tissue.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Relationship Between Microplastics and Nanoplastics with Cancer: An Emerging Health Concern

This review explores the emerging relationship between micro- and nanoplastic exposure and cancer risk in humans. Researchers summarized evidence suggesting that microplastics can carry carcinogenic substances and may trigger inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways linked to tumor development. The study highlights that while early evidence raises concern, more research is needed to establish clear causal connections between plastic particle exposure and specific cancer types.

2024 International Journal of Hematology and Oncology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and PAHs mixed contamination: An in-depth review on the sources, co-occurrence, and fate in marine ecosystems

This review examines how microplastics and PAHs (cancer-causing chemicals from fossil fuel burning) interact in ocean environments, with microplastics acting as carriers that help spread these toxic chemicals through marine ecosystems. This combined contamination matters for human health because both pollutants can accumulate in seafood and potentially reach people through diet.

2024 Water Research 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of the adsorption efficiency of carcinogenic PAHs on microplastic (polyester) fibers—preliminary results

Researchers found that polyester microfibers — the tiny plastic threads shed from clothing during washing — can absorb large amounts of cancer-linked polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), accumulating up to 1,255 micrograms per gram of fiber, which means microplastics in sewage sludge may be concentrating toxic chemicals before they reach the environment.

2022 Applied Water Science 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons affiliated with microplastics in surface waters of Bohai and Huanghai Seas, China

Microplastics collected from surface waters of the Bohai and Huanghai Seas in China were found to carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at concentrations exceeding those in surrounding water, acting as concentrators of these carcinogenic compounds. The study documents that microplastics in heavily industrialized Chinese coastal seas accumulate PAHs that can be transferred to organisms that ingest them.

2018 Environmental Pollution 192 citations
Article Tier 2

Sources, Occurrences, and Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydro-Carbons (PAHs) in Bangladesh: A Review of Current Status

This review examines levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toxic chemicals from burning fossil fuels, across water, soil, air, and seafood in Bangladesh, finding concentrations higher than in most other countries. Health assessments revealed both cancer and non-cancer risks to residents from eating contaminated seafood. While focused on PAHs rather than microplastics directly, the findings are relevant because microplastics can absorb and concentrate these same cancer-causing chemicals, potentially worsening human exposure.

2024 Atmosphere 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on The Adsorption and Their Mechanisms of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil by Microplastics

This review examines how microplastic characteristics including polymer type, particle size, density, and aging state influence their adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil, along with how environmental factors such as pH and organic matter modify this interaction. The authors provide a theoretical framework for understanding the combined pollution risk of microplastics and PAHs in terrestrial ecosystems.

2024 Academic Journal of Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Sorption of benzo(a)pyrene and of a complex mixture of petrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons onto polystyrene microplastics

Researchers investigated the sorption of benzo(a)pyrene and a complex mixture of petrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons onto polystyrene microplastics in aquatic systems, quantifying how the hydrophobic nature and large surface area of microplastics facilitate PAH accumulation and potential vector transport.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry 11 citations