Cancer Medicine (Oct 2024)

Tattoos and Risk of Hematologic Cancer: A Population‐Based Case–Control Study in Utah

  • Rachel D. McCarty,
  • Britton Trabert,
  • David Kriebel,
  • Morgan M. Millar,
  • Brenda M. Birmann,
  • Laurie Grieshober,
  • Mollie E. Barnard,
  • Lindsay J. Collin,
  • Katherine A. Lawson‐Michod,
  • Brody Gibson,
  • Jenna Sawatzki,
  • Marjorie Carter,
  • Valerie Yoder,
  • Jeffrey A. Gilreath,
  • Paul J. Shami,
  • Jennifer A. Doherty

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.70260
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 20
pp. n/a – n/a

Abstract

Read online

ABSTRACT Background Approximately one‐third of US adults have a tattoo, and the prevalence is increasing. Tattooing can result in long‐term exposure to carcinogens and inflammatory and immune responses. Methods We examined tattooing and risk of hematologic cancers in a population‐based case–control study with 820 cases diagnosed 2019–2021 and 8200 frequency‐matched controls, ages 18–79 years. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using multivariable‐adjusted logistic regression models. Results The prevalence of tattooing was 22% among Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cases, 11% among non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases, 16% among myeloid neoplasm cases, and 15% among controls. Though there were no clear patterns of associations between ever receiving a tattoo and risk of HL, NHL, or myeloid neoplasms overall, in analyses restricted to ages 20–60 years, ever receiving a tattoo (OR 2.06 [95% CI 1.01, 4.20]) and receiving a tattoo 10+ years prior (OR 2.64 [95% CI 1.23, 5.68]) were associated with an aggregated group of rarer mature B‐cell NHLs. We also observed elevated risks for a 10+ year latency for myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myeloid leukemia (OR 1.48 [95% CI 0.40, 5.41], and OR 1.24 [95% CI 0.45, 3.43], respectively). Conclusions Though estimates were imprecise, we found some suggestive evidence that tattooing may be associated with an increased risk of certain hematologic cancer subtypes. With an estimated 46% prevalence of tattooing in US individuals ages 30–49, additional studies are needed to understand the degree to which these exposures may be associated with hematologic cancer risk.

Keywords