ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2025
Long-Term Exposure to Real-Life Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoplastics Induces Carcinogenesis In Vitro.
Article in Environmental science & technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evidence on microplastic exposure and respiratory health outcomes: a systematic review.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseasePooled it
- Marine microplastic pollution and cancer incidence from 2013 to 2021 in US coastal counties: an ecological analysis.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2026Article
- Inhaled Micro- and Nanoplastics as Environmental Modifiers of Lung Carcinogenesis: Mechanistic Insights and Evidence Synthesis.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Review
- Microplastics in early-onset carcinogenesis.Carcinogenesis · 2026Review
- Long-Term PET-Nanoplastic Exposure Alters DNA Damage Response Capacity in BEAS-2B Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Respiratory risks of microplastics and nanoplastics: Where? What? How?Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2026Review
- Emerging evidence on micro- and nanoplastics carcinogenicity: mechanisms, models, and signaling networks.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Article
- Article
- Micro- and Nanoplastics and Pulmonary Health: The Current State of Research.Microplastics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Microplastics and neurotoxicity: could prenatal exposure to microplastics boost congenital enteric neuropathies?Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Review
- Distinct pro-inflammatory responses to pristine and microbially contaminated PET nanoplastics in a human alveolar cell co-culture.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Article
- Review
- Biological Impact of True-to-Life PET and Titanium-Doped PET Nanoplastics on Human-Derived Monocyte (THP-1) Cells.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) are environmental contaminants originating mainly from plastic waste degradation that pose potential health risks. Inhalation is a major exposure route, as evidenced by their detection in human lungs, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) among the most abundant particles in respiratory airways. However, the harmful effects of particle bioaccumulation remain unclear, as chronic effects are understudied. To assess long-term effects, specifically carcinogenic effects, BEAS-2B cells were exposed to PET-NPLs for 30 weeks. Genotoxicity, carcinogenic phenotypic hallmarks, and a panel of genes and pathways associated with cell transformation and lung cancer were examined and compared across three exposure durations. No significant effects were observed after 24 h or 15 weeks of exposure. However, a 30-week exposure led to increased genotoxic damage, anchorage-independent growth, and invasive potential. Transcriptomic analysis showed the upregulation of several oncogenes and lung cancer-associated genes at the end of the exposure. Further analysis revealed an increase in differentially expressed genes over time and a temporal gradient of lung cancer-related genes. Altogether, the data suggest PET-NPLs' potential carcinogenicity after extended exposure, highlighting serious long-term health risks of MNPLs. Assessing their carcinogenic risks under chronic scenarios of exposure is crucial to addressing knowledge gaps and eventually developing preventive policies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.