Greek study finds higher microplastic burden in lungs of cancer patients

Microplastics appeared more often and in greater quantities in lung samples from patients diagnosed with lung cancer, according to a new Greek study presented at the 2026 European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona.

Researchers from the Pulmonology Clinic at Larissa University Hospital and the University of Thessaly examined 100 adults who underwent diagnostic bronchoscopy. Half were diagnosed with lung cancer, while the other 50 had no malignancy. All participants provided bronchoalveolar lavage samples, collected from the airways using saline, and 50 also provided small lung-tissue samples.

The researchers analyzed 150 respiratory samples in total: 100 lavage samples and 50 tissue samples. They used procedures designed to reduce contamination, examined the material microscopically and confirmed selected particles through micro-Raman spectroscopy. In all, they identified 232 microplastic particles.

Microplastics appeared in at least one sample from 70% of participants and in 60% of all samples. In the lavage samples, they were detected in 66% of lung cancer patients, compared with 46% of participants without cancer. Cancer patients also carried a higher overall microplastic burden, and the association remained statistically significant after the researchers considered age, sex and smoking exposure.

The findings also suggested that microplastics may not be distributed evenly throughout the lungs. Among cancer patients, higher quantities in bronchoalveolar lavage were linked to lower quantities in the corresponding tissue sample, and vice versa. Lavage samples capture particles in the air spaces, while tissue samples capture particles embedded in lung tissue. The researchers emphasized that their results show an association, not proof that microplastics cause lung cancer.