Do Tattoos Cause Cancer?
New research shows that tattoos potentially have serious consequences. Here's what you need to know.
Most people believe tattoos fade over time due to skin cell turnover or UV exposure breaking down pigment molecules. That does happen, but the main reason why tattoos lose their initial color and brilliance is because your body slowly absorbs and redistributes the ink.
See, when a tattoo is applied, ink is driven into the dermis (the deeper layer of skin), where it's initially held by macrophages – immune cells that engulf the pigment. Over time, as these cells die or move, some ink particles are carried away via the lymphatic system, leading to accumulation in lymph nodes. And that's a problem.
According to a new study, tattooed individuals have a much higher chance of getting cancer.
The Study
Researchers analyzed data from two twin studies – a case-control study of 316 twins and a cohort study of 2,367 randomly selected twins. The researchers hypothesized that ink migration might cause chronic inflammation, potentially leading to abnormal cell growth and cancer.
Here's what they found:
- The tattooed twins were indeed more likely to have cancer than their non-tatted siblings.
- In the case-control study, tattooed individuals had a 62% higher risk of skin cancer compared to non-tattooed folks.
- The cohort study showed tattooed people have a nearly 4 times higher rate of skin cancer and 2.83 times higher rate of basal cell carcinoma.
- The bigger the tattoo or the higher the number of tattoos, the greater the risk. (A "big" tattoo is considered larger than the palm of your hand in this study.)
- The time between tattoo exposure and cancer diagnosis was substantial – a median of 8 years for lymphoma and 14 years for skin cancer, suggesting cancers develop gradually.
The study's co-author noted: "We can see that ink particles accumulate in the lymph nodes, and we suspect that the body perceives them as foreign substances. This may mean that the immune system is constantly trying to respond to the ink..."
Should I Get Laser Tattoo Removal?
Probably not. Laser removal breaks down pigments into smaller fragments, potentially speeding up ink migration to the lymph nodes and other organs.
So, What Can I Do About It?
The researchers say not to panic but be aware of the cancer risks... and maybe rethink future ink. If you're already at risk of these cancers because you have a lot of tattoos, it also makes sense to take preventative steps.
With the focus narrowed to skin cancer (melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma) and lymphoma (Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin types), we can choose the right supplements to counter the hazards. Several fit the bill, but if we had to choose one, it would be curcumin.
Curcumin protects against UV-induced damage (a key skin cancer trigger) by reducing oxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation (via COX-2, NF-κB), and inducing apoptosis in melanoma cells. Curcumin also suppresses lymphoma cell proliferation by targeting pathways like JAK/STAT and PI3K/Akt, while enhancing immune surveillance.
The only problem? Standard curcumin supplements have low bioavailability. To get the protective benefits, you have to use third-generation curcumin: Longvida Optimized Curcumin (Buy at Amazon). This micellar technology encapsulates curcumin in micelles and increases absorption and bioavailability by 95 times. The curcuminoids survive initial hydrolysis and deliver free curcumin and its metabolites throughout the body via the lymphatic system.
This form of curcumin is what we use in Biotest Micellar Curcumin (Buy at Amazon).
Reference
- Clemmensen, S.B., Mengel-From, J., Kaprio, J. et al. Tattoo ink exposure is associated with lymphoma and skin cancers – a Danish study of twins. BMC Public Health 25, 170 (2025).