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Inked peeps are not going to like the results of a recent study that pointed to your chances of getting cancer, more specifically malignant lymphoma, at 21% higher if you have a tattoo – regardless of the size.

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden examined the link between the global rise in the popularity of tattoos and the unexplained increase in cases of malignant lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

Before you hit unsubscribe, it’s worth saying that the researchers say they’re not trying to dissuade people from getting inked, they just want to ‘ensure the procedure is safe’, so let’s hear them out.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. It keeps body fluid levels in balance and defends against infection. There are two main types of cancer affecting the lymphatic system: non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which accounts for around 90% of all lymphomas, and Hodgkin lymphoma. There are about 40 subtypes of NHL, which differ in how fast they grow and spread.

The study included 11,905 Swedish people, 2,938 of whom had lymphoma between 20 and 60 years of age (‘cases’). Of those participants, 54% answered the questionnaire about tattoos; 47% of the controls (those without lymphoma) did the same.

Tattoo prevalence was 21% among cases and 18% among controls.

“After taking into account other relevant factors, such as smoking and age, we found that the risk of developing lymphoma was 21% higher among those who were tattooed.”

The researchers hypothesised at the start of the research that a larger tattoo might mean an increased risk of lymphoma, but this turned out not to be the case, as the risk remained the same regardless of size.

“We do not yet know why this was the case,” said Christel Nielsen, associate professor of epidemiology at Lund University and the study’s lead and corresponding author.

“One can only speculate that a tattoo, regardless of size, triggers a low-grade inflammation in the body, which in turn can trigger cancer. The picture is thus more complex than we initially thought.”

Previous studies have found particles of tattoo ink – and metal nanoparticles from the tattoo needle itself – can travel to the lymph nodes.

“We already know that when the tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the body interprets this as something foreign that should not be there and the immune system is activated,” Nielsen said.

“A large part of the ink is transported away from the skin to the lymph nodes, where it is deposited.”

The researchers will now examine whether there is a link between tattoos and other types of cancer, as well as inflammatory diseases.

As someone with enough ink on my body to write a book, I’ll wait for a second opinion on this research.

[source:newatlas]