Understanding the role of indoor air pollution on lung cancer risk in never- smokers of different ethnicities: a pilot study (360G-Wellcome-319157_Z_24_Z)

There is increasing recognition of individuals who have never smoked developing lung cancer, especially in women and non-White ethnic groups. Risk factors for never-smoker lung cancer include environmental tobacco smoke (15% of cases), radon (10% of cases), outdoor air pollution and a family history of lung cancer1, 2. Indoor air pollution such as particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is becoming an increasing public health concern, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic, as populations are spending more time indoors. In the UK, cooking is one of the main sources of indoor air pollution and its practices can vary across ethnic groups, resulting in different levels and toxicity of indoor air pollution. We hypothesise that cooking-related indoor air pollution plays a role in lung cancer development in never-smokers in UK populations, and exposure may differ between ethnicities, such that the risk is higher for women of South Asian origin that engage in traditional cooking practices. We also hypothesize that increased exposure to indoor air pollution may result in increased mutational load that can be detected in cells isolated from non-invasive biological samples, and this measure may have value for risk stratification.