Dr Loeb on Microplastics in Prostate Cancer Tissue Samples

“[These findings] weren’t surprising, given how pervasive plastics [are in] many tissues in the body across many studies. The surprising finding was that the concentration of microplastics and nanoplastics was higher in prostate tumors than in the benign tissue sample that we took from the other side of the prostate.”

Stacy Loeb, MD, a professor in the Department of Urology and in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, discussed findings from a study that looked at microplastics in prostate cancer tissue, which were presented in a poster during the 2026 Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium.

Findings from the study revealed that microplastics were found in the tissue samples of 9 of 10 patients with prostate cancer. There was also a higher concentration of microplastics in tumor tissue compared with benign tissue. The median total plastic concentration in tumor tissue samples (n = 10) was 16.3 µg/g (IQR, 8.2-36.1) compared with 7.0 µg/g (IQR, 7.0-18.4) in benign tissue samples (n = 10).

It was not surprising that microplastics were found in nearly all the samples, given that they have been shown to be present in many tissues across multiple studies, Loeb began. However, it was notable that the concentration of microplastics was higher in tumor tissue compared with benign tissue that was taken from the other side of the prostate, she explained.

Loeb and her colleagues plan to increase their sample size to up to 30 samples to gain a better understanding of the association between microplastics and the risk of prostate cancer, she said. Tissue inflammation will be studied as a possible mechanism and they will investigate whether the amount of inflammation is correlated with the concentration of microplastics, she concluded.

Disclosures: Loeb holds consulting or advisory roles with Astellas Pharma, Blue Earth Diagnostics, Doceree, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Savor Health LLC, and Sumitomo. She also received research funding from Astellas Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Savor Health LLC.