Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42203887›Full record

ReviewCommunications medicine2026

Microplastics as both a driver of genitourinary cancers and a deliverer of treatments.

Kannan Sridharan, Brigida Anna Maiorano, Farah Rehan, Francesca Maradonna, Elisabetta Giorgini, Tarek Taha, Javier Molina-Cerrillo, Sebastiano Buti, Francesco Piva, Francesco Massari and 1 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Communications medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Kannan SridharanDepartment of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3811-6503
Brigida Anna MaioranoDepartment of Medical Oncology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Farah RehanDepartment of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Francesca MaradonnaDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy.
Elisabetta GiorginiDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy.
Tarek TahaRoyal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Javier Molina-CerrilloDepartment of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Sebastiano ButiMedical Oncology Unit, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0876-0226
Francesco PivaDepartment of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.
Francesco Massari *Medical Oncology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. francesco.massari8@unibo.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6476-6871
Matteo Santoni *Medical Oncology Unit, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are environmental contaminants increasingly detected in human tissues, raising public health concerns. Although evidence is still insufficient to directly link MNPs to genitourinary cancers (GU), this Review examines their potential role in prostate, bladder, and renal cell carcinoma. Proposed mechanisms include chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and endocrine disruption driven by plastic-associated additives. Emerging studies report quantitative detection of MNPs within human prostate and bladder tumors, with higher burdens associated with dietary habits such as frequent take-out food consumption. The Review also highlights their role in cancer therapy: MNPs may alter antineoplastic drug pharmacokinetics and promote resistance, yet polymer-based nanoparticles can be engineered as advanced drug delivery platforms. Materials such as PLGA and PEG may improve targeted delivery of chemotherapies and immunotherapies, supporting more effective and personalized treatment strategies in GU oncology.

Identifiers

PMID42203887
PMCPMC13216587

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Registered trials

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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.