University of Oulu investigates whether prenatal air pollution exposure raises childhood cancer risk

The University of Oulu is participating in a major EU-funded study examining how chemical and biological environmental exposures during pregnancy may influence a child’s risk of developing cancer, national broadcaster Yle reports.

The research will focus on factors such as air pollution and their potential link to childhood leukaemia, lymphoma, and central nervous system tumours. Scientists emphasise that fetal development is a particularly vulnerable period when a mother’s exposure to pollutants—including airborne contaminants and everyday chemicals—could increase the risk of cancer in childhood and adolescence.

“We know childhood cancers have multiple underlying causes, but the role of prenatal environmental exposures remains unclear,” said Ville N. Pimenoff, docent and lead researcher at the University of Oulu, in a statement. “Our goal is to identify preventable risk factors.”

The project, coordinated by the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in the Netherlands, involves 14 research teams across Europe. It has received €7 million in funding from the EU’s Cancer Mission program and will run from 2026 to 2030.

Pimenoff’s team has previously collaborated with Stanford University to measure individual exposure levels to environmental chemicals and biological agents among young Finnish women.