AIIMS launches study to understand link between pollution and lung cancer

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has launched India's first population-level study to determine how much the risk of lung cancer increases due to long-term exposure to polluted air. According to a News18 report, the study will specifically focus on people who have never smoked.

The study has been named AIRCARE (Air Pollution and Cancer Research Ecosystem). The project began approximately three months ago and will continue for a total of three years. Both public and private healthcare institutions are involved in this research. The primary objective of this study is to gather specific evidence for India regarding the relationship between pollution and cancer. Additionally, an attempt will be made to understand through which biological processes pollutants such as PM2.5 can trigger cancer.

Researchers have requested lung cancer patients and their family members from the Delhi-NCR region to participate in the study. This study is considered significant as very little data has been available in India so far on this matter. The research has started at a time when the air in the capital, Delhi, has reached the 'very poor' category. According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 323 on Thursday. Delhi-NCR is currently under Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), and according to projections by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), air quality could become 'severe' by Friday.

Dr. Abhishek Shankar from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dr. BRA Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital (Dr BRAIRCH), AIIMS, who is the Principal Investigator of this study, told News18, "Lung cancer is no longer a disease that we can associate only with smoking."

The study primarily focuses on PM2.5 particles. These particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometres, allowing them to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the circulatory system. Dr. Shankar further added that more scientific attention is needed on environmental and occupational exposure, especially long-term exposure to air pollution. Through AIRCARE and ILST, AIIMS New Delhi is working towards better understanding this disease, identifying high-risk individuals, and strengthening opportunities for early detection.

According to the Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI), the AIRCARE study will be conducted at AIIMS and in parts of Delhi and NCR where levels of PM2.5 exposure vary. Researchers plan to enroll a total of 3,230 people in this study, including 1,615 lung cancer patients and 1,615 of their family members. Family members have been kept as a control group to compare the PM2.5 exposure of patients and their relatives.

Additionally, the same AIIMS team has registered another study named 'Indian Lung Screening Trial' (ILST). However, this trial is not about pollution, but examines whether early detection of lung cancer in people at higher risk due to smoking can be achieved through low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans.