On November 9, 2018 the FDA announced it will begin restricting the sales of flavored, cartridge-based vaping products such as Juul to only tobacco shops and vape shops in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of children and teenagers. But does using cartridge-based vaping products cause cancer? The short answer is, it’s too early to tell.

A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics examined teens who use e-cigarettes and analyzed urine samples to find out what chemicals enter the body. The researchers found that e-cigarette users were exposed to volatile organic compounds such as propylene oxide and acrylamide, which are carcinogenic. Another study found that e-cigarette aerosol causes DNA damage in mice. Ultimately, the long-term health effects of vaping remain unknown and are ripe for further study.  

Air pollution has previously been linked with several types of cancer, including breast, liver, and lung cancer. But what about mouth cancer? A new study by researchers in Taiwan mined national cancer, health, insurance, and air quality databases to find out if air pollutants might have a role in the development of mouth cancer.

In 2012-13, the researchers checked the health records of 482,659 men aged 40 and older who had attended preventive health services, and had provided information on smoking/betel quid chewing. Diagnoses of mouth cancer were then linked to local area readings for air pollutants taken in 2009. Smoking and frequent betel quid chewing were significantly associated with heightened risk of a diagnosis. After taking account of potentially influential factors like smoking, increased levels of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) were associated with an increased risk of mouth cancer.

The study however, is not without limitations. For one, it is does not consider the men’s previous exposure to air pollution over their lifetime – which may have been higher or lower than their recent exposure. In a October 9th, 2018 article published in The Guardian, Dr. Frank Kelly, Professor of Environmental Health at King’s College London, notes that next a beneficial step would be to conduct similar research in different countries to better account for varying levels of tobacco consumption.

Study Reference

Yu-Hua Chu, Syuan-Wei Kao, Disline Manli Tantoh, Pei-Chieh Ko, Shou-Jen Lan, Yung-Po Liaw. Association between fine particulate matter and oral cancer among Taiwanese men. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 2018; jim-2016-000263 DOI: 10.1136/jim-2016-000263

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its 2018 report on September 12. The comprehensive report provides a summary of the past year’s accomplishments in cancer early detection, prevention, precision medicine, immunotherapy, and more. Engaging graphics from the Report are also available, like the one on health disparities shown at the bottom of this post.

Highlights and Challenges from the Report include:

• The U.S. cancer death rate declined by 26 percent for adults from 1991 to 2015, a reduction that translates into almost 2.4 million lives saved.
• The number of new cancer cases in the United States is predicted to rise from more than 1.7 million in 2018 to almost 2.4 million in 2035, due largely to the increasing number of people age 65 and older.
• Advances against cancer have not benefited everyone equally. Cancer health disparities are some of the most pressing challenges posed by the disease.