Microplastics may hang around in the body longer than scientists previously thought and may contribute to the spread of cancer when inside tumors, a lab-dish study suggests.
The research has several limitations, however. For instance, the scientists used cancer cells grown in lab dishes, so it remains to be seen how the results apply to real-life biological systems beyond controlled lab conditions. The microplastics studied also differ somewhat from those found in the environment, because the latter have different shapes and degrade in specific ways.
Nonetheless, the lab-dish study’s findings are “very concerning,” Nicholas Chartres, a researcher who studies microplastics at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Sydney, told Live Science in an email. “These types of studies are critical early warning signs for us to act,” said Chartres, who was not involved in the new research.
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