Possible link between tattoos, lymphoma revealed in new study

A new study out of Sweden finds that people with tattoos have a 21% higher risk of developing lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

“It is important to remember that lymphoma is a rare disease and that our results apply at the group level,” Lund University researcher Christel Nielsen, who led the study, said in a statement last week. “The results now need to be verified and investigated further in other studies, and such research is ongoing.”

For the study, published in eClinicalMedicine, 11,905 participants were directed to answer a questionnaire about lifestyle factors to determine if they were tattooed. The risk associated with tattoo exposure appears to be highest for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (a fast-growing curable cancer that starts in white blood cells) and follicular lymphoma (a slow-growing incurable cancer).

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

Nielsen’s team hypothesized that the size of the tattoo would affect the lymphoma risk, but they determined that’s not the case.

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

Nielsen said her study underscores the importance of oversight of the chemical composition of tattoo ink. In the US, nearly a third of adults have a tattoo, including 22% who have more than one.

The Food and Drug Administration considers tattoo inks to be cosmetics and their pigments to be color additives.

The FDA says it has traditionally not regulated the color additives in tattoo ink pigments, while local municipalities establish rules for body art businesses.

Nielsen’s team plans to look for links between tattoos and other types of cancer as well as other inflammatory diseases.

A study presented last year at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting found a potential association between having several large tattoos and the risk of blood cancers. The risk was particularly strong for people who were tattooed at a young age.

“People will likely want to continue to express their identity through tattoos, and therefore it is very important that we as a society can make sure that it is safe,” Nielsen said. “For the individual, it is good to know that tattoos can affect your health and that you should turn to your health care provider if you experience symptoms that you believe could be related to your tattoo.”