Could Tattoos Increase The Risk of Lymphoma?

Written by Dr Peter McCullough MD, MPH on June 6, 2024. Posted in Current News

As summertime approaches, one cannot help but notice the every increasing appearance of visible tattoos, mainly in forest green ink

Unlike tie-dye shirts, bell-bottoms, new hairstyles and other fads, tattoos represent a permanent form of mass mimicry or mimesis.

Most people with tattoos give less than a compelling reason for this life-long commitment.

The skin is loaded with lymphocytes and one can only wonder does the ink or one of its chemical components stimulate these cells to become cancerous.

After multiple individual case reports of lymphoma in tattoo enthusiasts, Nielsen et al has published this disturbing report from Lund, Sweden:

“The study population consisted of 11,905 individuals, and the response rate was 54 percent among cases (n = 1398) and 47 percent among controls (n = 4193).

The tattoo prevalence was 21 percent among cases and 18 percent among controls. Tattooed individuals had a higher adjusted risk of overall lymphoma (IRR = 1.21; 95 percent CI 0.99–1.48).

The risk of lymphoma was highest in individuals with less than two years between their first tattoo and the index year (IRR = 1.81; 95 percent CI 1.03–3.20).

The risk decreased with intermediate exposure duration (three to ten years) but increased again in individuals who received their first tattoo ≥11 years before the index year (IRR = 1.19; 95 percent CI 0.94–1.50).

We found no evidence of increasing risk with a larger area of total tattooed body surface. The risk associated with tattoo exposure seemed to be highest for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (IRR 1.30; 95 percent CI 0.99–1.71) and follicular lymphoma (IRR 1.29; 95 percent CI 0.92–1.82).”

For those who made the potentially unwise choice of a tattoo, these data suggest active surveillance for new persistent rashes, fever, night sweats, recurrent viral illness, or swollen lymph nodes as signs of incipient lymphoma.

See more here substack.com

Header image: Evening Standard

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