Project Description:

The relationship between environmental exposure and childhood cancer (ages 0-19 years), particularly due to transportation-related air pollution such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene, is increasingly evident and concerning. Despite childhood cancer being relatively rare, it remains a leading cause of death for children, with about 15,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States. Since 1992, there has been a significant increase in childhood cancer incidence in the United States. This trend raises concerns about the role of environmental factors, particularly transportation-related air pollution, in childhood cancer development.

In Texas, nearly 99% of the population lived in areas where the PM2.5 concentration exceeded the WHO’s 5 µg/m³ guidelines in 2016, posing significant health risks. Children in low socioeconomic communities in Texas are often exposed to higher levels of vehicular pollution. Studies have found connections between living near major roadways and increased risk of certain childhood cancers. However, the direct link between air pollution, especially transportation-related air pollution, and childhood cancer is still underexplored. This proposal aims to comprehensively examine geographic air pollution disparities and their effects on childhood cancer across disadvantaged racial/ethnic and socioeconomic communities in Texas. It delves into the complex relationship between environmental factors and childhood cancer, with a focus on vulnerable communities.

US DOT Priorities:

This project contributes to environmental preservation by exploring the link between transportation-related air pollution and childhood cancer, providing valuable insights into how transportation policies and practices can be made more environmentally responsible. Reducing harmful emissions from transportation sources is a key part of this goal, and the findings could be pivotal in advocating for cleaner, more sustainable transportation options that have a lower impact on public health.

Outputs: 

This project is a two-year project and will generate outputs over two separate years. The initial year of the project will identify key risk factors associated with different types of childhood cancers, emphasizing disparities across disadvantaged racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. The output from this year will include a detailed analytical report on these risk factors and disparities, along with an integrated dataset for further research in this field. In the second year, this project will focus on advanced spatial analyses and risk assessment system development. This study will generate a detailed mapping of geographical disparities in childhood cancer risks. This analysis will pinpoint high-incidence hotspots, focusing on areas with elevated transportation-related air pollutants and other risk exposure. Furthermore, this study will develop a sophisticated risk assessment score, which will integrate our findings from the earlier analyses and will serve as a vital system for evaluating childhood cancer risks. It will be a significant step forward in early detection and intervention strategies, aiming to mitigate childhood cancer risks efficiently.

_{Figure 1. Workflow of the proposed project}

Outcomes/Impacts: 

The proposed research will be able to identify distinct transportation-related air pollutant and risk factors associated with those cancers separately and uncover health outcome disparities across different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Additionally, the outcome will be a robust, evidence-based tool aimed at effectively predicting and managing childhood cancer risks in diverse communities.

The potental impact of this research includes:

• Transportation Policies and Systems: The outputs have potential applications in shaping transportation policies and systems. Identifying specific air pollutants linked to childhood cancer, along with their geographic distribution, could inform transportation policy decisions. This includes advocating for stricter emissions standards and promoting cleaner transportation methods to reduce air pollution in identified high-risk areas.
• Environmental and Legislative Change: The findings may prompt legislative bodies to reconsider environmental regulations, particularly regarding vehicular emissions and urban planning, to protect vulnerable communities identified in the study.
• Advancing Sustainable Transportation Solutions: The findings could lead to initiatives for cleaner transportation solutions, such as promoting electric vehicles, improving public transit systems, and enforcing stricter emissions regulations. In the long term, cleaner transportation can lower healthcare costs related to pollution and raise public awareness, fostering community support for sustainable policies and practices.