Particulate matter in air pollution triggers non-small cell lung cancer in people who have never smoked and scientists say they now know how it occurs.

The finding may herald new methods of screening and treating patients, oncology researchers say.

A UK-led team described the biological mechanism triggering cell changes by conducting mouse and human studies on genetic mutations previously linked to lung cancer — the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma virus) variants.

And in findings presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2022 congress in Paris on the weekend they demonstrated the risks from incremental exposure to pollution in a study of more than 460,000 people living in England, Taiwan and South Korea.