Air Pollution and Its Association with Cervical Cancer: A Scoping Review
Air Pollution & Cervical Cancer
Abstract
Cervical cancer is one of the leading women cancer globally. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the definite cause of cervical cancer, although other risk factors such as environmental variables, can also raise the likelihood of its development. The leading environmental cause of cancer death is air pollution. While it has long been linked to lung cancer, studies show that it is also a risk factor for other human cancers, including cervical cancer. This scoping review aims to identify and review published literature on the association of air pollution with the development of cervical cancer. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol was applied to guide this review. Seven publications discussing air pollution and its association with cervical cancer were included based on specific criteria. The elaboration of the sources of air pollution, types of air pollutants, and the exposure-outcome related to cervical cancer were discussed. Several air pollutants were associated with different exposure outcomes pertaining to cervical cancer, including the development of cervical precancerous lesions, and the increment in cervical cancer incidence and mortality. This review emphasised the association of air pollution that acted as the co-risk factor in the development of cervical cancer. It identified the air pollutants that influenced cervical cancer development thus proposing future research to elucidate the mechanism of possible co-risk factors leading to cervical cancer.
Keywords :
air pollution,
Cervical cancer,
pollutant,
Abstrak
Kanser serviks adalah salah satu kanser wanita yang utama di dunia. Punca kanser serviks adalah 'human papillomavirus' (HPV), namun faktor risiko lain seperti faktor persekitaran turut mempunyai kaitan dengan penyakit ini. Pencemaran udara adalah penyebab utama kematian akibat kanser. Walaupun ia telah lama dikaitkan dengan kanser paru-paru, terdapat kajian-kajian yang telah membuktikan ianya merupakan faktor risiko untuk kanser lain di kalangan manusia, termasuklah kanser serviks. Kajian skop ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti dan meneliti literatur sedia ada yang mengkaji perkaitan antara pencemaran udara dengan perkembangan kanser serviks. Protokol 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews' (PRISMA-ScR) telah digunakan untuk membimbing kajian ini. Tujuh penerbitan yang membincangkan pencemaran udara dan kaitannya dengan kanser serviks telah dipilih berdasarkan kriteria tertentu. Huraian tentang punca pencemaran udara, jenis bahan pencemar udara, dan kesan pendedahannya terhadap kejadian kanser serviks telah dibincangkan. Beberapa bahan pencemar udara dikaitkan dengan pelbagai kesan pendedahannya yang berhubungkait dengan kanser serviks, termasuklah perkembangan pra-kanser serviks, serta peningkatan dalam kejadian dan kematian kanser serviks. Kajian ini menekankan perkaitan antara pencemar udara yang bertindak sebagai faktor risiko bersama dalam perkembangan kanser serviks. Dengan mengenalpasti bahan pencemar udara yang mempengaruhi perkembangan kanser serviks, kajian ini seterusnya dapat dijadikan panduan untuk penyelidikan berkaitan mekanisma faktor-faktor risiko pencemar udara yang menyebabkan kanser serviks di masa hadapan.
Kata Kunci :
bahan pencemar,
kanser serviks,
pencemaran udara,
Correspondance Address
Siti Maisara Amir. Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603-9145 8782 Email: sitimaisaraamir@gmail.com
