Tattoos May be Linked to an Increased Risk of Lymphoma

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

People often put a lot of thought into getting a tattoo. But there’s one thing most people forget to think about—what impact the tattoo might have on their health in the long run. What happens to the ink once it’s in your skin? Does it all stay in the skin where it’s visible, or does it travel further into the body?

Research has shown that tattoo ink does not just remain where it is injected. Particles from the ink can migrate to the lymph nodes, where they accumulate.

Researchers from the Department of Public Health and the Department of Clinical Research at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), together with the University of Helsinki, have investigated whether this could have health consequences. Using data from Danish twin pairs, they found that tattooed individuals are more frequently diagnosed with skin and lymphoma cancers compared to those without tattoos.

The research was published in the journal BMC Public Health.

The lymph nodes are a crucial part of the immune system, helping to fight infections and filter harmful substances from the body.

When tattoo ink penetrates the skin, some of it is absorbed into the lymph nodes. The researchers are particularly concerned that tattoo ink may trigger chronic inflammation in the lymph nodes, which over time could lead to abnormal cell growth and an increased risk of cancer.

“We can see that ink particles accumulate in the lymph nodes, and we suspect that the body perceives them as foreign substances,” explains Henrik Frederiksen, consultant in hematology at Odense University Hospital and clinical professor at SDU.

The study is based on data from the Danish Twin Tattoo Cohort, where researchers have information from more than 5,900 Danish twins. By analyzing tattoo patterns alongside cancer diagnoses, they found a higher occurrence of both skin and lymphoma cancers in tattooed individuals.

The results show that the link between tattoos and cancer is most evident in those with large tattoos—defined as bigger than a palm.

For lymphoma, the rate is nearly three times higher for the group of individuals with large tattoos compared to those without tattoos. This rate (more specifically, “hazard rate”) accounts for age, the timing of the tattoo, and how long the individuals have been followed in the study.

“This suggests that the bigger the tattoo and the longer it has been there, the more ink accumulates in the lymph nodes. The extent of the impact on the immune system should be further investigated so that we can better understand the mechanisms at play,” says Signe Bedsted Clemmensen, assistant professor of biostatistics at SDU.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-tattoos-linked-cancer-twin.html