Evidence mapPaperPMID 42581044Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Blood metabolomic signatures linking air pollution to lung cancer in the Cancer Prevention Studies.

Sabrina S Chow, Ying Wang, Jeremy A Sarnat, W Ryan Diver, Emily L Deubler, Douglas I Walker, Ziyin Tang, Aparna H Kesarwala, C Arden Pope Iii, Michael Jerrett and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Sabrina S ChowGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8272-4552
Ying WangGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. ying.wang@cancer.org.ORCID 0000-0002-1241-6252
Jeremy A SarnatGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
W Ryan DiverDepartment of Population Science, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5418-9000
Emily L DeublerDepartment of Population Science, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Douglas I WalkerGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Ziyin TangGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3786-6495
Aparna H KesarwalaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8297-9643
C Arden Pope IiiDepartment of Economics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4239-6686
Michael JerrettDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4121-0587
Michelle C TurnerBarcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-6431-1997
Donghai LiangGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. donghai.liang@emory.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-7311-2298

Funding

Winship Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support GrantP30CA138292 · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$3.5M
HERCULES: Exposome Research CenterP30ES019776 · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$1.6M
The Omics and Mixtures Integration on Traffic exposure and Preterm Birth (OMIT-PTB) StudyR01ES035738 · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2025 to 2025
$655k
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA138292NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES019776NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES035738NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES032117U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) P30ES019776U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) R01ES035738U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) R21ES03211
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Air pollution is a leading environmental cause of lung cancer, yet the underlying biological pathways remain poorly understood. Identifying circulating biomarkers that capture early molecular responses may clarify how air pollutants contribute to carcinogenesis and help identify individuals at elevated risk. We conduct a prospective nested case-control study within two Cancer Prevention Study cohorts, profiling more than 1100 metabolites in pre-diagnostic plasma samples from 1357 participants. Residential concentrations of six major air pollutants are estimated at the time of blood draw. Here we show that eight circulating metabolites are associated with both air pollution exposure and subsequent lung cancer risk. Four metabolites, including γ-glutamylglutamine, phenylacetylglutamate, N-(2-furoyl)glycine, and 4-vinylguaiacol glucuronide, significantly mediate associations for particulate matter and ozone (adjusted q-value < 0.2). These findings suggest that air pollution may promote lung cancer partly through metabolic pathways related to inflammatory and oxidative processes, providing key insights into potential mechanisms and targets for prevention.

Indexed as

Air PollutantsAir PollutionLung NeoplasmsMetabolomeCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMetabolomicsMiddle AgedOzoneParticulate MatterProspective StudiesAir PollutantsOzoneParticulate Matter

Identifiers

PMID42581044
PMCPMC13462325

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.