New research suggests that pesticide residues on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may contribute to an increase in lung cancer cases among Americans under age 50 who have never smoked.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Unexpected Dietary Link: Non-smoking Americans under age 50 who consume high amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may face an increased risk of lung cancer due to potential pesticide exposure.
- Gender Disparity: Young women who do not smoke are more likely to develop lung cancer than men in the same age group, a trend that correlates with higher reported consumption of produce and grains.
- Distinct Disease Biology: Research indicates that lung cancer in younger patients is biologically different from cases caused by smoking or those found in older adults, requiring further investigation into environmental factors.
New research from the USC Norris Cancer Center suggests that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may put non-smoking Americans under age 50 at a higher risk of developing lung cancer, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR),
The findings suggest that pesticide residue on otherwise healthy foods may be an overlooked environmental risk factor, but further research is required to confirm the link, researchers cautioned.
“Our research shows that younger non-smokers who eat a higher quantity of healthy foods than the general population are more likely to develop lung cancer,” said lead author Jorge Nieva, a medical oncologist and lung cancer specialist with USC Norris. “These counter-intuitive findings raise important questions about an unknown environmental risk factor for lung cancer related to otherwise beneficial food that needs to be addressed.”
While smoking rates in the US have declined since the mid-1980s, lung cancer cases among non-smokers age 50 and younger have increased. This shift is most pronounced in women, who are now more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than men in the same age demographic.
To investigate this trend, researchers launched the Epidemiology of Young Lung Cancer Project, which surveyed 187 patients diagnosed with the disease by age 50. Most participants had never smoked and presented with forms of lung cancer that are biologically distinct from those found in older adults or smokers.
Using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), a scale from 1 to 100 that measures overall diet quality, researchers compared the diets of these patients with the broader US population. Young non-smoking lung cancer patients had an average HEI score of 65, compared to the national average of 57. Patients in the study also consumed more daily servings of dark green vegetables, legumes, and whole grains than the average US adult.
Nieva and his team speculated that the risk may be linked to pesticides used on non-organic crops. Commercially produced fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are more likely to carry higher pesticide residues than meat, dairy, or processed foods. The researchers noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides also experience higher rates of lung cancer, providing further evidence for the theory.
“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva.
The researchers indicated that further investigation is required to confirm the link by directly measuring pesticide levels in blood or urine samples from patients. This next step could help determine if specific pesticides pose a greater risk than others. The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and several nonprofit organizations, including the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute and GO2 for Lung Cancer.
