It’s no secret that air pollution is linked to lung disease and cancer, but a new study highlights the significant role of pollution in head and neck cancer.

Mass. Gen. Brigham researchers have found it air pollution is linked to higher prices of stomach and stomach cancer in the head and neck.

“Although there has been extensive research investigating the effects of air pollution on lung disease, few studies have focused on exposure to air pollution as a risk factor for upper respiratory tract cancer, including the development of head and neck cancer,” said the study’s senior author Stella Lee.

“These findings highlight the significant role that environmental pollutants play in cancers of the upper digestive tract, and highlight the need for further awareness, research and mitigation efforts,” added Lee, who is with Center for Surgery and Public Health and division of Otolaryngology-Head and neck surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham Health Care System.

The study, “Air Pollution Exposure and Head and Neck Cancer Incidence,” is the work of a multi-institutional collaboration with researchers from Mass General Brigham, Johns Hopkins University and Wayne State University.

“Environmental health and personal health are inextricably linked,” said co-author Amanda Dilger, of the Center for Surgery and Public Health and Massachusetts Eye and Ear.

“Our study highlights the need to improve air quality standards to reduce the risk of developing cancer, including head and neck cancer,” Dilger added.

The research was led by John Cramer, associate professor of otolaryngology, and John Peleman, medical resident in the Department of Otolaryngology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

“There has been previous research on air pollution, but the effects were mostly linked to cancers of the lower respiratory tract,” Cramer said. “Head and neck cancer is a more difficult link to show, and has a much lower incidence than lung cancer, but because they also occur as a result of smoking, similar to lung cancer, we wanted to explore possible links.

“Probably the link to head and neck cancer comes from what we breathe to the material that affects the lining of the head and neck,” Cramer added. “We see many events where carcinogens touch or accumulate in the body to where cancer can occur.”

Their research used data from the US Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results national cancer database from 2002 to 2012.

Cramer noted the highest association of this type of pollution exposure with head and neck cancer after a five-year lag period.

They focused on PM2.5, which is particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns, and its effect on the incidence of head and neck cancer.