Opinion
Video
Laura Davis, MD, on link between microplastics and bladder cancer
“The key finding is [that] this might be, in itself, a novel risk factor for bladder cancer," says Laura E. Davis, MD.
Data presented at the 2025 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada suggest a link between plastics-processing waste release and bladder cancer incidence.
In an interview with Urology Times®, co-author Laura E. Davis, MD, shares key insights on the study’s background and findings.
“We all know that there's a component of environmental exposure, as far as exposure to chemicals, that leads to bladder cancer. Microplastics are a really hot topic right now. People know that they're bad and they're everywhere, but that's about the extent of what we know about them. We do know that they release some chemicals that can leach into the air and water. So, we thought, let's put 2 and 2 together—perhaps there might be a correlation with microplastics, or in the case of our study, plastics-processing chemicals, and the development of bladder cancer.”
Davis is a PGY-4 resident at Case Western Reserve/University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio.
However, Davis noted that although interesting, data on this link is still in its infancy, and future work is still necessary.
She concluded, “The key finding is [that] this might be, in itself, a novel risk factor for bladder cancer. We as urologists and scientists owe it to our patients to delve deeper and see what's going on.”
REFERENCE
1. Nandwana D, Davis L, Almassi N, et al. Bladder cancer incidence and plastics-processing waste release in Ohio: Are microplastics a novel risk factor? J Urol. 2025;213(5S):e832. doi:10.1097/01.JU.0001110008.49923.28.04
