A new study led by a team of researchers from Lund University in Sweden, published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, has established a significant link between tattoos and an increased risk of lymph node cancer, a type of cancer. which affects the lymphatic system. The study aimed to fill an important gap in our knowledge of the long-term effects of tattoos.
Tunisian content creator Yassine Khadraoui, specialized in the popularization of new studies and scientific discoveries, took care to summarize and present the essence of this study on his official profile on the social network Facebook.
In a series of experiments and research, the team identified people diagnosed with lymph node cancer and compared them to a control group of the same age and gender, but without the disease. The study sample included a total of 11,905 participants, of whom 2,938 had been diagnosed with this type of cancer, aged between 20 and 60 years old. Among the affected patients, 1,398 completed a detailed questionnaire on their lifestyle, including the presence of tattoos.
The results were somewhat alarming, showing that 21% of people with lymph node cancer had tattoos. After adjusting for other relevant factors such as smoking and age, the team concluded that people with tattoos had a 21% increased risk of developing this type of cancer.
Initially, the team had assumed that tattoo size would influence risk, thinking that larger tattoos would pose a higher risk. However, the study showed that the size or extent of tattooed skin had no impact on cancer risk. Even small tattoos can cause low-grade inflammation, creating a favorable environment for this cancer to develop.
To clarify further, when a tattoo is injected into the skin, the body perceives it as a foreign substance, triggering an immune response. Some ink particles are then carried to the lymph nodes where they accumulate and remain trapped indefinitely. This immune response and the accumulation of ink in the lymph nodes create an environment conducive to the development of cancer.
In summary, the tattooing process generally involves the introduction of nanoscale particles of dyes into the dermis of the skin. These particles become trapped in the top layer of the skin and cause an initial healing response. However, skin immune cells, such as macrophages, attempt to phagocytose these ink particles but fail to completely degrade them, keeping them trapped in the lymph nodes. This process can potentially contribute to the development of lymph node cancer, as the researchers observed in their study.
This research raises important questions about the risks associated with tattoos and highlights the need for further investigation to better understand the long-term implications of this popular practice.
