Tattoos and Cancer Risk: Breaking Down the Latest Findings

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00:00Tattoos and cancer risk, breaking down the latest findings.

00:05Humans have been getting tattoos since at least 3000 BC.

00:08However, inks and techniques have considerably changed over the centuries.

00:13Recent studies have also indicated a possible link between tattoos and cancer risk.

00:21The recent studies have suggested that people who get tattoos are at a higher risk of developing

00:25various cancers, such as leukemia and skin cancers. The research is still in its early stages.

00:32However, since around one out of every three Americans has tattoos, people should be made

00:37aware of the potential risks involved. While it may seem like we should have plenty of evidence,

00:43considering our long history with tattoos, the techniques and inks have evolved.

00:48Modern machines use more ink than traditional methods, which were smaller and organic.

00:52Today's inks include compounds like emulsifiers, solvents and preservatives.

00:57Several of these compounds are known to have associated health risks and have been found

01:01in almost half of the inks used for tattooing in Europe. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are one

01:07such compound, also a major carcinogen in cigarette smoke. Notably, 8% of these inks contain chromium,

01:14lead, arsenic and ozopigments, releasing cancer-causing aromatic amines.

01:22Additionally, these numbers don't mean that American brands are safer. The European inks were just

01:27the most recently studied. American inks probably contain similar compounds, but are less regulated.

01:33According to the doctor, more and more of his leukemia patients seem to have tattoos.

01:37Analyzing 820 cases revealed a potential link to higher non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk and increased

01:44blood cancer risks for people tattooed before age 20. However, he wasn't sure if this was simply

01:50because more people were getting inked or if there was something more to it. Another Danish study

01:55recently found that larger tattoos could double lymphoma risk. These studies only indicate a link,

02:01not a cause since they are observational. McCarty noted that inks travel through the lymphatic system,

02:07accumulating in lymph nodes, which might explain tattooing's potential link to lymphomas.