Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Tumour recurrence, gastrointestinal symptoms and inflammation associated with microplastic-positive intestinal tumours

Nature Health (2026) Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Human exposure to microplastics (MPs) through diet, drinking water and inhalation is a potential public health concern, yet direct evidence of MPs in diseased human tissues remains limited. Using complementary high-resolution techniques, including confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy, Raman imaging–scanning electron microscopy and hyperspectral imaging, we report the in situ detection and characterization of MPs within human intestinal tumour tissues. Among 188 clinical intestinal tumour specimens, MPs were detected in 106 cases (56.4%), with polyethylene terephthalate as the predominant polymer. MP-positive tumours were associated with localized inflammation and histopathological changes, and patients harbouring MP-positive tumours showed a trend towards a higher tumour recurrence rate and considerably elevated gastrointestinal symptom severity over a mean follow-up of 34.1 ± 17.4 months compared with patients with MP-negative tumours. Together, these findings highlight the need for further investigation into exposure pathways, tissue uptake and clearance of MPs, and the potential role of MPs in contributing to the cancer burden.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Overview of total MP abundances in all tissue samples from intestinal tumours.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 2: MPs were detected in situ within intestinal tissue sections using RISE and HSI.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 3: Elevated inflammatory biomarkers observed in tumour tissues are associated with the presence of MPs.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 4: Associations between the presence of MPs and intestinal health.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The main data supporting the results in this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

References

  1. Vethaak, A. D. & Legler, J. Microplastics and human health. Science 371, 672–674 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Leslie, H. A. et al. Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood. Environ. Int. 163, 107199 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Roslan, N. S. et al. Detection of microplastics in human tissues and organs: a scoping review. J. Glob. Health 14, 04179 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. He, P. et al. Association of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid with Alzheimer’s disease-related changes. J. Hazard. Mater. 494, 138748 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Alpaydin, A. Ö. et al. Microplastics, as a risk factor in the development of interstitial lung disease—a preliminary study. Environ. Pollut. 363, 125054 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Xia, Q. et al. Inhalation of microplastics induces inflammatory injuries in multiple murine organs via the Toll-like receptor pathway. Environ. Sci. Technol. 58, 18603–18618 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang, J. et al. Microplastics and nanoplastics cause thyroid dysfunction in adolescent mice through the intestinal microbiota-mediated hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid axis. Environ. Health (Wash.) 4, 313–323 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Marfella, R. et al. Microplastics and nanoplastics in atheromas and cardiovascular events. N. Engl. J. Med. 390, 900–910 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Deng, B. D., Sinha, S. R., Lear, G. & Tropini, C. Microplastics and nanoplastics in the human gut: from signals to standards. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 23, 374–375 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang, J. et al. Caught in fish gut: uptake and inflammatory effects of nanoplastics through different routes in the aquatic environment. ACS EST Water 4, 91–102 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Zhang, Z. et al. Polystyrene microplastics induce size-dependent multi-organ damage in mice: insights into gut microbiota and fecal metabolites. J. Hazard. Mater. 461, 132503 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ferlay, J. et al. Estimating the global cancer incidence and mortality in 2018: GLOBOCAN sources and methods. Int. J. Cancer 144, 1941–1953 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Lazaridis, K. N., Koutsari, C. & Samsonraj, R. M. Microplastics and nanoplastics and the digestive system. Gastro Hep Adv. 4, 100694 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Yan, Z. et al. Analysis of microplastics in human feces reveals a correlation between fecal microplastics and inflammatory bowel disease status. Environ. Sci. Technol. 56, 414–421 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kim, B., Park, K.-M., Lee, H. & Hyun, Y.-M. Microplastic-induced macrophage dysfunction drives lung tumor progression through glutathione imbalance. ACS Nano 20, 5489–5505 (2026).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Kulich, K. R. et al. Reliability and validity of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) and Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia (QOLRAD) questionnaire in dyspepsia: a six-country study. Health Qual. Life Outcomes 6, 12 (2008).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Deng, Y. et al. Long-term exposure to environmentally relevant doses of large polystyrene microplastics disturbs lipid homeostasis via bowel function interference. Environ. Sci. Technol. 56, 15805–15817 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Xu, J., Qu, J., Jin, H. & Mao, W. Associations between microplastics in human feces and colorectal cancer risk. J. Hazard. Mater. 495, 139099 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Sun, A. & Wang, W.-X. Human exposure to microplastics and its associated health risks. Environ. Health (Wash.) 1, 139–149 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Peterson, L. W. & Artis, D. Intestinal epithelial cells: regulators of barrier function and immune homeostasis. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 14, 141–153 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Cetin, M. et al. Higher number of microplastics in tumoral colon tissues from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. Environ. Chem. Lett. 21, 639–646 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Nihart, A. J. et al. Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains. Nat. Med. 31, 1114–1119 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Chen, H. et al. An accurate size-probability distribution method for converting microplastic counts to mass. Environ. Sci. Technol. 60, 1263–1274 (2026).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Shruti, V. C., Pérez-Guevara, F., Elizalde-Martínez, I. & Kutralam-Muniasamy, G. First study of its kind on the microplastic contamination of soft drinks, cold tea and energy drinks—future research and environmental considerations. Sci. Total Environ. 726, 138580 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ding, J. et al. Toxicological effects of nano- and micro-polystyrene plastics on red tilapia: are larger plastic particles more harmless? J. Hazard. Mater. 396, 122693 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Garcia, M. M. et al. In vivo tissue distribution of polystyrene or mixed polymer microspheres and metabolomic analysis after oral exposure in mice. Environ. Health Perspect. 132, 047005 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Chen, L. Q. et al. Characterization of microplastics in human gastric cancer and control tissues and analysis of associated genetic features. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 15, e04291 (2026).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Guo, H. et al. Long-term exposure to microplastics promotes early-stage hepatocarcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine in rats by modulation of their gut microbiota. Toxics 13, 353 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Ibrahim, N. et al. Microplastic pollution: sources, degradation mechanisms, analytical advances, and mitigation strategies for environmental sustainability. Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 263, 27 (2025).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Cai, Y., Mitrano, D. M., Hufenus, R. & Nowack, B. Formation of fiber fragments during abrasion of polyester textiles. Environ. Sci. Technol. 55, 8001–8009 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Gray, A. D. & Weinstein, J. E. Size- and shape-dependent effects of microplastic particles on adult daggerblade grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio). Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 36, 3074–3080 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Kim, S. A., Kim, L., Kim, T. H. & An, Y.-J. Assessing the size-dependent effects of microplastics on zebrafish larvae through fish lateral line system and gut damage. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 185, 114279 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Qiao, R. et al. Accumulation of different shapes of microplastics initiates intestinal injury and gut microbiota dysbiosis in the gut of zebrafish. Chemosphere 236, 124334 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. O’Connor, A., Irhin, K., Sabo-Attwood, T. & Gray, A. Toxicological impacts of microplastic fibers: a review assessing risk to human and aquatic health. Environ. Res. 288, 123272 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Fournier, E. et al. Microplastics: what happens in the human digestive tract? First evidences in adults using in vitro gut models. J. Hazard. Mater. 442, 130010 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Zhang, K. et al. Gut microbiota participates in polystyrene microplastics-induced hepatic injuries by modulating the gut–liver axis. ACS Nano 17, 15125–15145 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Gu, W. et al. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals size-dependent effects of polystyrene microplastics on immune and secretory cell populations from zebrafish intestines. Environ. Sci. Technol. 54, 3417–3427 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Microplastics in Drinking Water (World Health Organization, 2019); https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6365240-4b02-4620-9f51-d700eb4e00de/content

  39. Ragusa, A. et al. Deeply in plasticenta: presence of microplastics in the intracellular compartment of human placentas. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 19, 11593 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Benoit, L. et al. Cigarette smoke and tumor microenvironment copromote aggressiveness of human breast cancer cells. Toxicol. Sci. 192, 30–42 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Chen, Y. et al. Role of microplastics in the tumor microenvironment (Review). Oncol. Lett. 29, 193 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Suzuki, T., Hidaka, T., Kumagai, Y. & Yamamoto, M. Environmental pollutants and the immune response. Nat. Immunol. 21, 1486–1495 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Tumwesigye, E. et al. Microplastics as vectors of chemical contaminants and biological agents in freshwater ecosystems: current knowledge status and future perspectives. Environ. Pollut. 330, 121829 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Xu, H. et al. The role of microplastics in elevated risk and tissues metabolic alterations in uterine fibroid of female patients. Environ. Pollut. 374, 126251 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Acquavella, J. F., Douglass, T. S., Vernon, S., Hughes, J. I. & Thar, W. E. Assessment of colorectal cancer screening outcomes among workers involved in polypropylene manufacture. J. Occup. Med. 31, 785–791 (1989).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Wu, F. et al. Microplastic accumulation in fibrotic intestinal tissue and mesenteric adipose tissue in Crohn’s disease patients. Environ. Res. 271, 121077 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Yan, Z. et al. An efficient method for extracting microplastics from feces of different species. J. Hazard. Mater. 384, 121489 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Jenner, L. C. et al. Detection of microplastics in human lung tissue using μFTIR spectroscopy. Sci. Total Environ. 831, 154907 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Horton, A. A. et al. Semi-automated analysis of microplastics in complex wastewater samples. Environ. Pollut. 268, 115841 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Li, Y. et al. Leaf absorption contributes to accumulation of microplastics in plants. Nature 641, 666–673 (2025).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 42322707 and 42277266 to W.Q.), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (KCXFZ20240903093700002 and JCYJ20241202130703005 to W.Q.), the Ningbo Key Research and Development Plan and ‘Reveal the List’ Project (2023Z176 to W.Q.), the Guangdong–Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control (no. 2023B1212120001 to C.Z.), and the High-Level University Special Fund (G03050K001 to W.Q.). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the paper. We thank Y. Guo from the Core Facility of Wuhan University for her help with SEM–Raman analysis.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Honghong Chen, Zhaohui Liu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Honghong Chen

  2. School of the Environment and Sustainable Engineering, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China

    Honghong Chen & Chunmiao Zheng

  3. Guangdong–Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Honghong Chen & Wenhui Qiu

  4. Department of Gastroenterology, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China

    Zhaohui Liu

  5. Department of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Zhaohui Liu

  6. Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Wenhui Qiu

  7. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China

    Yuping Zhou

  8. Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Elvis Genbo Xu

  9. Department of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Jason T. Magnuson

  10. Institute of Coastal Environmental Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology (Ministry of Education), Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

    Jian Zhao

  11. School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Wenjing Zhao

  12. Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Shengwei Hou

  13. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

    Huahong Shi

  14. Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Baoshan Xing

Authors
  1. Honghong Chen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhaohui Liu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenhui Qiu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yuping Zhou
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elvis Genbo Xu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jason T. Magnuson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jian Zhao
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Wenjing Zhao
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Shengwei Hou
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Huahong Shi
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Baoshan Xing
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Chunmiao Zheng
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

W.Q. and H.C. designed the research. Z.L. and Y.Z. provided tissue samples and clinical information. H.C. performed the microplastics analysis. W.Q., H.C. and Z.L. conducted clinical follow-ups. H.C. and W.Q. wrote the original manuscript. J.T.M., E.G.X., H.S., S.H., B.X., W.Z., J.Z. and C.Z. contributed to editing and revising the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenhui Qiu.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Health thanks Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy, Raffaele Marfella and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available. Primary Handling Editor: Ben Johnson, in collaboration with the Nature Health team.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Schematic overview of patient recruitment and eligibility assessment for microplastics (MPs) analysis in intestinal tumor tissue samples.

(a) Schematic diagram of patient enrollment and screening for the presence of microplastics (MPs) in intestinal tumor tissues excised during colonoscopic surgery; (b) Inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study population. Schematic in a created in BioRender; Chen, H. https://biorender.com/w4sc31a (2026).

Extended Data Table 1 Characteristics of the Patients at Baseline
Full size table

Supplementary information

Source data

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, H., Liu, Z., Qiu, W. et al. Tumour recurrence, gastrointestinal symptoms and inflammation associated with microplastic-positive intestinal tumours. Nat. Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00123-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00123-z

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing