Is there a link between tattoos and lymphoma?

A new study from Sweden found that tattooed individuals had a 21% higher risk of getting a type of cancer called lymphoma compared with non-tattooed individuals. The authors of the study stressed the need for additional research to establish causality, since association does not necessarily mean causation, and hoped regulatory measures can be put in place to control the chemical composition of tattoo ink and minimize the risk of lymphoma in persons who choose to get tattooed in the future.

Reference:

Nielsen C, Jerkeman M, and Jöuda AD. Tattoos as a risk factor for malignant lymphoma: a population-based case–control study.

eClinicalMedicine 2024;72: 102649

US Cancer Statistics 2024

The latest annual report on cancer statistics in the United States is full of detailed information on the current status of cancer in the general population. It shows that generally progress continues to be made in the fight against cancer with fewer new cancer cases and fewer cancer deaths are being reported in recent years. Three things stand out from that report:

1) The number of men diagnoses with prostate cancer has been on the rise since 2015.

2) A type of skin cancer called Melanoma continues to affect more people each year than the previous year.

3) For men and women first diagnosed with cancer of the large intestine (colon and rectum) when they were younger than 50, the numbers dying from this cancer have been increasing year over year. This is unfortunate because it is the opposite of what has been happening in older patients.

So especially if you are younger than 50 and have signs or symptoms that can be present in association with colon or rectal cancer, please see your doctor (do not delay). Here is a link to the American Cancer Society page on this topic.

Source: Siegel RL, Giaquinto AN, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2004. CA Cancer J Clin 2004; 74:12-49.