Researchers discover a link between tattoos and this cancer

A new study from Lund University in Sweden suggests that tattoos may be a risk factor for lymphoma, a type of lymphatic system cancer. The researchers stress the need for further research on this topic.


Our understanding of the long-term health impacts of tattoos remains limited, with few studies in this area. A team of researchers at Lund University has investigated the potential link between tattoos and lymphoma.

For this study, individuals diagnosed with lymphoma were identified through population registers and matched with a control group of the same sex and age but without lymphoma. Participants answered a questionnaire about their lifestyle habits, including the presence of tattoos.

The study included a total of 11,905 individuals, 2,938 of whom had lymphoma. Among these, 1,398 responded to the questionnaire, compared to 4,193 participants in the control group. In the lymphoma group, 21% had tattoos, compared to 18% in the control group.

eClinicalMedicine published the study's results, which show that after adjusting for factors like smoking and age, the risk of developing lymphoma was 21% higher in tattooed individuals. It's important to note that lymphoma is a rare disease and these results apply at the group level. Further research is necessary to confirm these findings.

The researchers initially thought that the size of the tattoo might influence the risk of lymphoma but found that the tattooed area size did not matter. They speculate that any tattoo, regardless of size, could trigger low-grade inflammation in the body, potentially promoting cancer development.

The majority of people get tattooed at a young age, exposing them to tattoo ink for much of their lives. However, research on the long-term effects of tattoos remains limited. When tattoo ink is injected, the body treats it as a foreign substance, activating the immune system. Much of the ink is then transported to the lymph nodes, where it is deposited.

The Lund University research group will continue their studies to determine whether there is an association between tattoos and other types of cancers, as well as inflammatory diseases.

eClinicalMedicine published this study under the title "Tattoos as a risk factor for malignant lymphoma: a population-based case-control study" by Christel Nielsen, Mats Jerkeman, and Anna Saxne Jöud on May 21, 2024.