A study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Genitourinary Cancers Symposium found microplastics in 90% of prostate tumor samples and 70% of noncancerous prostate tissue from 10 men averaging 65 years old, with cancerous tissue containing 2.5 times more plastic than benign tissue. Lead researcher Dr. Stacy Loeb from NYU Langone Health took extensive precautions to eliminate contamination, and the team has secured Defense Department funding for a larger 30-patient study to investigate links between plastic quantity and inflammation. The findings come as late-stage prostate cancer cases have risen annually by 2.6-6.2% across age groups over the past decade, and previous research has associated plastic chemicals like phthalates and bisphenols with prostate cancer risk. The study has not yet undergone peer review, which experts consider critical given methodological criticisms of similar microplastics research.
Detection of microplastics in prostate tumor tissue
- ▪Cancerous prostate tissue contained 2.5 times the amount of plastic on average compared to noncancerous tissue
- ▪Prostate tissue samples contained approximately 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue
- ▪The study analyzed tissue samples from 10 men with prostate cancer with an average age of 65
- ▪Dr. Stacy Loeb is a urologist at NYU Langone Health and the lead author of the microplastics in prostate tumors study
- ▪Microplastics were present in 90% of the prostate tumor samples analyzed in the study
- ▪A 2024 study published in The Lancet by researchers in China found higher levels of plastics in prostate tumors compared to nearby tissue
Potential health implications and rising prostate cancer rates
- ▪Around 1 in 8 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime
- ▪Dr. Andrea Viale is an associate professor in the department of genomic medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
- ▪Cases of late-stage prostate cancer have increased annually by 2.6% in men under 55 over the past decade
- ▪Dr. Michael Eisenberg is a urology professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine
Future research directions and causal uncertainty
- ▪Dr. Stacy Loeb and colleagues secured a grant from the Defense Department for a larger study analyzing plastic in tissue samples from 30 prostate cancer patients
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