RAISED ON EXHAUST

Link between air pollution and childhood diseases, including cancer, warrants concern

- MANAS RANJAN RAY

IN 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified ambient air pollution as a carcinogen for humans, and said that the risk of cancer increases with rising levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (vocs) in the ambient air. So could air pollution be a reason for cancer in children in the Gangetic delta, where air quality usually hovers from "poor" to "severe" on the index of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)? Though adequate information is not available to establish the extent of the impact, we know that children, whose organs are still developing, are more vulnerable to air pollution than adults. Their exposure begins when they are still in the mother's womb.

We also know that the prevalence of childhood cancer (in children up to 14 years) in Delhi, which is among the highly polluted cities in the world, has nearly doubled in the 25 years between 1990 and 2014. Data available with Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) of Delhi shows that childhood cancer in the capital has risen by 97 per cent among boys and 93 per cent among girls. Though the reason for this unusual high incidence of childhood cancer in the national capital is yet to be elucidated, a possible link between city's high level of air pollution and childhood cancer, with special reference to effect of benzene and PM2.5 at the level of genomics and proteomics, is worth investigating by sensitive molecular markers.