20% of the Lung Cancer Cases are Due to Air Pollution in Hyderabad, India

Around 20% of lung cancer patients who eventually die in the city are exposed to high levels of air pollution, city doctors said, weeks after the WHO classified pollution as carcinogenic to humans and leading to lakhs of deaths globally. The air in Hyderabad is dangerously laced with carcinogenic agent benzene and ozone and their levels shoot up dangerously in summer months, says the Central Pollution Control Board.

Link to the article in Times of India.

Real time air quality data from the continuous monitoring station located at APPCB in Hyderabad, India


At the Chest Hospital, at least 25 new cases of lung cancer are reported every month, while individual oncologists in the city receive up to 10 cases on an average.

"Rising pollution is related to rising incidence of lung cancer. After Delhi, Hyderabad has reached a stage, where harmful substances in the air are recorded much above normal levels at most of the junctions," said Dr P N S Reddy, a top pulmonologist with Yashoda Hospital and former superintendent at the Chest Hospital.

Majority of these patients report late to specialists and the delayed diagnosis enormously shoots up the mortality rate among patients with the cure rate at a dismal 10%.

Particulate Pollution Source Apportionment in Hyderabad, India

"We all the time used to say air pollution is the contributory factor for lung cancer, but the WHO's revelation shows that a lot is at stake," said Dr Praveen Saxena, an expert in environment medicine.
Experts attribute the rise in lung cancer among non-smokers to diesel smoke, which is the main pollutant in the city, with disastrous health consequences .

They say diesel smoke is so dangerous that the changes can either result in cancer or can get carried on to the next generation.

Source Emissions and Health Impacts of Urban Air Pollution in Hyderabad, India

"The particulate matter of diesel has got mutation changes capacity. It can cause changes in the DNA and RNA and also cause changes in the cell metabolism," said pulmonologist Dr Vyaykarnam Nageshwar.

Autorickshaws are the major contributors to the harmful diesel exhausts, he added. The other causes of air pollution are power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions and residential heating and cooking. Experts also say that people who have air condition in cars feel they have avoided the toxic effluents but not really.

"You need to pull down your glass after you cross the polluted area to allow proper cross ventilation. When the glass is not pulled down, there is some amount of pollution in the car itself," said Dr Nageshwar .

Lung cancer statistics are startling with 80,000 new lung cancer cases detected in India every year, of which around 90% die.

Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board

"The problem is majority of the lung cancer cases are automatically assumed to be tuberculosis. By the time we figure out it is lung cancer we lose a lot of valuable time. If detected early, it can be cured," says Dr Saikrishna Yendamuri , head thoracic surgery at the Citizen's Hospital . Deteriorating air quality can be disastrous for children, experts say. By adopting simple measures such as wearing face masks and full helmets, the effects of vehicular pollution can be reduced to a certain extent, he suggests.