• Microplastics are everywhere, from the highest mountains to the deepest seas and even in rainwater, as recently detected in Jakarta, Indonesia. • Now, for the first time, scientists have confirmed the presence of microplastics in human gastric tissues and believe they could be a risk factor for the development and progression of gastric cancer. • Despite a general decline in prevalence over the last few decades, cases of gastric cancer remain high, particularly in East Asia. • With poor prognosis and survival rates, gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and research is urgently needed to understand the risk factors for its development and progression. • “In tumor tissues, the enrichment level of microplastics is significantly higher than that in para-tumor and normal tissues, indicating that tumor cells may endocytose more microplastics than normal cells, causing oxidative stress and a series of inflammatory reactions in cells, leading to cell malignant transformation and tumorigenesis,” explains Anqiang Wang, researcher at Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute and lead author of the study published in Advanced Healthcare Materials. • “In addition,” he continues, “extracellular matrix degradation and other metastasis-related signalling pathways were significantly enriched in tumor tissues with higher microplastic load, which may create potential conditions for tumor cell metastasis.” Pervasive plastic By 2015, almost 5 billion metric tons of pl

Article Summaries:

  • Microplastics are everywhere, from the highest mountains to the deepest seas and even in rainwater, as recently detected in Jakarta, Indonesia. Now, for the first time, scientists have confirmed the presence of microplastics in human gastric tissues and believe they could be a risk factor for the development and progression of gastric cancer. Despite a general decline in prevalence over the last few decades, cases of gastric cancer remain high, particularly in East Asia. With poor prognosis and survival rates, gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and research i

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