Addressing the Negative Health Impacts of Environmental Pollutants on Children with Cancer

“A growing body of research ties environmental pollutants to worse health and shorter life spans for childhood cancer survivors. Yet medical providers lack sufficient resources to address these risks with patients, a recent federally funded study found.

The study, published in Cancers, revealed 80% of pediatric oncology providers surveyed received questions from families about the impact of environmental pollutants on children’s health, but only 25% of providers said they felt comfortable discussing the topic.

“Medical providers receive little to no education or clinical training on the impacts of environmental pollutants like pesticides and wildfire smoke but need resources to better treat patients,” said Mark Miller, MD, MPH, senior author of the study and an associate professor in UCSF’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine division.

To fill the gap, UCSF’s Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (WSPEHSU) is partnering with physicians nationwide to help develop a pediatric cancer environmental referral service. The service will take children’s environmental health histories and risk assessments, then provide a toolkit to their families. The toolkit will include guidance on using the EPA Air Quality Index, carbon dioxide monitors, air purifiers, and other simple and cost-effective strategies to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants.

“Many families express frustration that there are not enough resources to prevent and reduce the impact of environmental pollutants on their kids,” said first author Omar Shakeel, MD, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Texas Children’s Hospital. “Ninety-six percent of pediatric cancer providers reported in our study that an environmental referral service would help address these families’ concerns.”

Funding: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Public Health Institute.”

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Originally published by University of California San Francisco