Lung cancer cases linked to air quality
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E-mail Chian Daily, February 27, 2014
"Of the city's lung cancer cases that were histologically diagnosed, the proportion of squamous cell lung cancer decreased yearly from 30.41 percent in 1998 to 24.16 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of lung adenocarcinoma increased from 42.83 percent to 46.80 percent," the study found.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, under the World Health Organization, has also linked lung cancer to air pollution.
In October 2013, the IARC said that outdoor air pollution was a leading environmental cause of cancer.
"After thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature, the world's leading experts, convened by the IARC, said there is sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer," the agency said.
Beijing hospitals have reported a rise in patients seeking treatment for respiratory problems since smog descended on the capital seven days ago.
Zhao Hongmei, a respiratory medicine doctor at Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, said her department has been overwhelmed by patients.
"Usually, a doctor in my department sees 40 to 50 patients every morning. Now, the number has risen to 70," she said. "We have been working at full capacity since Spring Festival."
She said the number of patients in their 30s and 40s has increased markedly since the smog arrived.
"Most showed symptoms such as coughing and discomfort in the throat, but X-rays showed their lungs were not infected.''
Zhou Jipu, a doctor in the respiratory department at Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said he has seen an increase in elderly patients with underlying diseases in his department since Spring Festival, and smog has worsened their conditions.
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