Allergy’s Silver Lining Is Found as Scientists See Reduced Risk of Cancer
People suffering from contact allergies may be less at risk of developing certain tumors, researchers found.
Scientists who scoured data from almost 17,000 Danish adults tested for allergies and a national cancer register found that people with adverse reactions to common metals and chemicals were less likely to get skin and breast cancers. The research was published today in the open-access online medical journal BMJ Open.
The research backs up a theory known as immunosurveillance hypothesis, which says people with allergies have immune systems that are more vigilant at patrolling the body and eliminating transformed cells, reducing the risk of cancer.
“When you have an allergy, it appears that you have a more focused immune system,” Kaare Engkilde, a senior researcher at Denmark’s National Allergy Research Center and the study’s lead author, said in a telephone interview. There may also be no causal link between allergy and cancer, the authors wrote.
In the research, of the 6,000 people who tested positive for at least one allergen at a hospital specializing in skin problems, about 1,200 also developed a growth, including non- cancerous tumors. The most common triggers for contact allergy include fragrances, perfumes and nickel, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Engkilde and his colleagues found “significantly lower rates” of breast cancer and of non-melanoma skin cancer in both men and women, and lower rates of brain cancer among women. The scientists also observed a higher incidence of bladder cancer in those with allergies, possibly because more chemical remains accumulated in their blood, Engkilde said.
“It appears that there is an inverse association with contact allergies to some of the more typical cancer types,” he said. “With bladder cancer there seems to be an increased effect.”
The study did not account for smoking, which may increase the risk of developing contact allergies to nickel as well as some types of cancer, the researchers said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Mead in London at cmead11@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
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