Citation: Shehata, S.A.; Toraih, E.A.;
Ismail, E.A.; Hagras, A.M.; Elmorsy,
E.; Fawzy, M.S. Vaping,
Environmental Toxicants Exposure,
and Lung Cancer Risk. Cancers 2023,
15, 4525. https://doi.org/10.3390/
cancers15184525
Academic Editors: Abhijit
Chakraborty, Faisal Aziz and
Sandro Arguelles
Received: 30 April 2023
Revised: 18 June 2023
Accepted: 22 June 2023
Published: 12 September 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
cancers
Review
Vaping, Environmental Toxicants Exposure, and Lung Cancer Risk
Shaimaa A. Shehata
1
, Eman A. Toraih
2,3
, Ezzat A. Ismail
4
, Abeer M. Hagras
1
, Ekramy Elmorsy
5,6
and Manal S. Fawzy
7,
*
1
Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University,
Ismailia 41522, Egypt; shaimaa_shehata@med.suez.edu.eg (S.A.S.); abeerhagras@med.suez.edu.eg (A.M.H.)
2
Division of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tulane University,
New Orleans, LA 70112, USA; etoraih@tulane.edu
3
Genetics Unit, Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University,
Ismailia 41522, Egypt
4
Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt;
boezzat@med.suez.edu.eg
5
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar 73213, Saudi Arabia;
ekramy.elmorsy@nbu.edu.sa
6
Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University,
Mansoura 35516, Egypt
7
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar 73213, Saudi Arabia
* Correspondence: manal.darwish@nbu.edu.sa
Simple Summary: Lung cancer (LC) is considered one of the most common cancers globally. Numer-
ous studies have determined the relations between E-cigarette, or vaping, products (EVPs) and many
proven environmental toxicants in LC development. Even though tobacco smoke remains the chief
cause of LC, there is increasing concern that EVPs use could also increase LC risk. Consumption of
EVPs has been dramatically increasing world-wide, particularly among younger people and non-
smokers. This review seeks to consolidate the known environmental toxicants and EVPs contributing
to LC to ensure that future research endeavors may identify key focus areas. Thus, EVPs are a highly
potential risk factor for LC and an area of significant concern for the future. Since these factors have
been linked to the development of LC, more research is needed to determine the mechanisms by
which they affect lung pathology. Discovering the pathophysiology of EVPs use and environmental
toxicant exposure in LC development can facilitate the adoption of exposure reduction strategies.
Abstract: Lung cancer (LC) is the second-most prevalent tumor worldwide. According to the most
recent GLOBOCAN data, over 2.2 million LC cases were reported in 2020, with an estimated new
death incident of 1,796,144 lung cancer cases. Genetic, lifestyle, and environmental exposure play an
important role as risk factors for LC. E-cigarette, or vaping, products (EVPs) use has been dramatically
increasing world-wide. There is growing concern that EVPs consumption may increase the risk of LC
because EVPs contain several proven carcinogenic compounds. However, the relationship between
EVPs and LC is not well established. E-cigarette contains nicotine derivatives (e.g., nitrosnornicotine,
nitrosamine ketone), heavy metals (including organometal compounds), polycyclic aromatic hydro-
carbons, and flavorings (aldehydes and complex organics). Several environmental toxicants have
been proven to contribute to LC. Proven and plausible environmental carcinogens could be physical
(ionizing and non-ionizing radiation), chemicals (such as asbestos, formaldehyde, and dioxins), and
heavy metals (such as cobalt, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and nickel). Air pollution, especially
particulate matter (PM) emitted from vehicles and industrial exhausts, is linked with LC. Although
extensive environmental exposure prevention policies and smoking reduction strategies have been
adopted globally, the dangers remain. Combined, both EVPs and toxic environmental exposures may
demonstrate significant synergistic oncogenicity. This review aims to analyze the current publications
on the importance of the relationship between EVPs consumption and environmental toxicants in the
pathogenesis of LC.
Cancers 2023, 15, 4525. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15184525 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers