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Planetary care is good cancer care

Nikki Burdett and Ben Dunne
Med J Aust 2024; 221 (8): . || doi: 10.5694/mja2.52455
Published online: 21 October 2024

To the Editor: Recently, more than 400 Australian doctors (including both authors) signed an open letter published in The Australian,1 calling on our federal government to protect the health of Australians by banning any new fossil fuel projects.


  • 1 Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC
  • 2 Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC


Correspondence: nikkilburdett@gmail.com

Competing interests:

Both authors are active members of Doctors for the Environment Australia, and signed the open letter, which is referenced in this manuscript.

  • 1. The Australian. Coal, oil and gas are health hazards [letter to the Australian Government]. Doctors for the Environment Australia and The Australia Institute, 12 June 2024. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/docsenvaus/pages/1049/attachments/original/1718144440/Doctors_for_Environment_Open_Letter__PRESS_‐_540x372_AUTH_.pdf?1718144440 (viewed June 2024).
  • 2. Loomis D, Grosse Y, Lauby‐Secretan B, et al. The carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution. Lancet Oncol 2013; 14: 1262‐1263.
  • 3. Hill W, Lim EL, Weeden CE, et al. Lung adenocarcinoma promotion by air pollutants. Nature 2023; 616(7955): 159‐167.
  • 4. Ou JY, Hanson HA, Ramsay JM, et al. Fine particulate matter air pollution and mortality among pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer patients. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020; 29: 1929‐1939.
  • 5. McHale CM, Zhang L, Smith MT. Current understanding of the mechanism of benzene‐induced leukemia in humans: implications for risk assessment. Carcinogenesis 2012; 33: 240‐252.
  • 6. Elliott EG, Ettinger AS, Leaderer BP, et al. A systematic evaluation of chemicals in hydraulic‐fracturing fluids and wastewater for reproductive and developmental toxicity. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2017; 27: 90‐99.
  • 7. Jephcote C, Brown D, Verbeek T, Mah A. A systematic review and meta‐analysis of haematological malignancies in residents living near petrochemical facilities. Environ Health 2020; 19: 53.
  • 8. James W, Jia C, Kedia S. Uneven magnitude of disparities in cancer risks from air toxics. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2012; 9: 4365‐4385.
  • 9. Robinson ES, Tehrani MW, Yassine A, et al. Ethylene oxide in Southeastern Louisiana's petrochemical corridor: high spatial resolution mobile monitoring during HAP‐MAP. Environ Sci Technol 2024; 58: 11084‐11095.

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