Microplastics and Cancer: What Science Knows & What It Doesn't | Dr. Lorne J. Hofseth | ALLATRA GRC

Why are colorectal cancer rates rising among younger adults? Could chronic inflammation, modern lifestyle, diet, environmental exposures, and emerging contaminants such as micro- and nanoplastics be contributing factors? What does current science actually know—and what remains uncertain?

In this episode of the ALLATRA Global Research Center Podcast, Dr. Karolína Hronová, Clinical Pharmacologist, Environmental Health Researcher at the ALLATRA Global Research Center and Dr. Jeffrey Long, Radiation Oncologist and Expert in Human Health Impacts of Environmental Factors have a conversation with Dr. Lorne J. Hofseth, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy and Director of the Center for Colon Cancer Research, who shares insights from decades of research on chronic inflammation, colorectal cancer, environmental risk factors, and cancer prevention. His research focuses on understanding how chronic inflammation, diet, the gut microbiome, DNA damage, and environmental exposures interact to influence cancer development and human health. 

The conversation explores the global rise of early-onset colorectal cancer, the biological mechanisms linking chronic inflammation to cancer development, and the growing scientific interest in the role of the exposome, the cumulative environmental and lifestyle factors that influence human health throughout life. Dr. Hofseth also discusses the current evidence on micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing what research has demonstrated so far, where important uncertainties remain, and which questions future studies must answer.

In this episode:

• Why is early-onset colorectal cancer increasing worldwide

• Chronic inflammation as a driver of cancer development

• Environmental exposures and the concept of the exposome

• Diet, obesity, and the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer risk

• What do current studies say about the potential impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on the development of cancer

• What scientists still do not know about environmental risk factors

• Cancer prevention and the future of environmental health research

Learn more about Dr. Lorne J. Hofseth:

https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/pharmacy/faculty-staff/hofseth_lorne.php

Report of the ALLATRA Global Research Center “Nanoplastics. A Systematic Risk Analysis for Human Health, Ecosystems, and the Environment”

https://allatra.org/global-research-center/publications/agrc.report.mnp.2026.04001

The podcast is hosted on the ALLATRA Global Research Center platform.

This material is provided for informational and discussion purposes only. The statements, assessments, interpretations, conclusions, and hypotheses expressed represent the personal views of their authors as of the date of publication and do not necessarily reflect the official position of ALLATRA or any other public association, organization, project, partner, affiliated entity, or individual unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Publication of this material is intended to encourage open scientific dialogue and does not in itself constitute institutional endorsement, scientific confirmation, expert opinion, or professional medical advice.