Parents and experts raise concerns over artificial pitches as childhood lymphoma rates climb

When 15‑year‑old goalkeeper Lewis Maguire was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, he was forced to abandon a trial opportunity with a professional club and confront months of chemotherapy and steroid treatment.

His father, Nigel, said Lewis had been suffering night sweats and fatigue for three months before a growth on his neck prompted medical tests. "The initial treatment was chemotherapy and steroids. Lewis coped well, despite being sick and putting on loads of weight because of the steroids," Nigel said. "We should not let kids play on this stuff," parents involved in the campaign have said.

Public health data shows bacterial, viral and many noncommunicable causes vary over time, but cancer registries in the United Kingdom indicate a rise in some childhood and adolescent blood cancers since the early 1990s. According to the charity Children With Cancer UK, about 60 children in the UK are diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma each year. Broad surveillance figures compiled by researchers show an increase of roughly 39.7% in lymphoma and other blood cancers among children under 15, and about 25.2% among people aged 15 to 24, compared with rates in the early 1990s.

Those trends, combined with clusters reported by parents and coaches, have fuelled renewed scrutiny of artificial playing surfaces. Campaigners and some scientists point to crumb‑rubber infill—small granules made from recycled tyres widely used on synthetic football pitches and playgrounds—as a potential source of exposure to chemicals that have been linked to cancer in laboratory and occupational studies. Coaches and advocates, including US soccer coach Amy Griffin, have created registries and databases documenting athletes and staff diagnosed with cancer who played or worked on artificial turf.

Researchers and campaigners say those anecdotal registers help identify patterns worth investigating, but they do not establish cause and effect. Major public health agencies in the United States and Europe, while acknowledging data gaps, have reported that available evidence is limited and does not conclusively demonstrate that exposure to chemicals in recycled‑tyre infill causes cancer in children or athletes.

Scientific assessments have highlighted that recycled tyre crumb can contain mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals and other compounds. Some of these substances are classified as carcinogenic or potentially harmful in high doses or in certain exposure contexts. Experts say exposure assessments are complex because they depend on factors such as the amount of dust or vapour released, duration and frequency of contact, the age of the users, and whether dangerous compounds are absorbed through skin, inhaled or ingested.

Public health bodies, including agencies that regulate chemicals and environmental risks, have called for more high‑quality, long‑term studies to evaluate whether routine use of artificial pitches contributes to cancer risk in children and young people. Independent academic teams in several countries are conducting environmental sampling, biomonitoring and epidemiological studies attempting to quantify exposures and compare illness rates among players and nonplayers.

Local authorities, schools and sports organisations have responded in diverse ways. Some councils and clubs have paused new installations or begun exploring alternative infill materials such as cork, sand or thermoplastic elastomers. Others maintain that existing guidance and monitoring are sufficient, citing agency statements that the current evidence does not establish a causal link.

Families affected by childhood cancer say uncertainty is not reassurance. Lewis Maguire and his father described the shock and disruption of treatment, and the difficulty of facing an unclear explanation for why a healthy, active teenager developed a rare disease. Two years after completing treatment, Lewis watched programming about possible links between synthetic turf and cancer and learned about registers documenting similar cases, including work by Amy Griffin that drew public attention to clusters among coaches and players.

Scientists caution that cancer trends are driven by multiple factors, including improvements in diagnosis and changes in environmental and lifestyle exposures over decades. They say that while the temporal overlap between the spread of synthetic turf—popular since the 1990s—and rising incidence rates merits investigation, rigorous studies are required to separate coincidence from causation.

Campaigners are urging governments to accelerate research and to apply the precautionary principle in places where children play and train. Health authorities say they will continue to monitor emerging evidence and update guidance accordingly. Meanwhile, parents, coaches and sports organisations face decisions about the surfaces on which children practice and play as research efforts continue to seek clearer answers.