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Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

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Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#201

Post by AceyMan »

simmerup wrote: post #19
ambyra wrote: post #11

I remember hearing somewhere that cells keep absorbing the ink, die, then release the ink in a cycle as an explanation to why the tattoos blur over time. If the ink immersed cells are forced to die and regrow at a faster rate than surrounding cells, there is a higher risk of mutations?

Kurzgesagt did a video on how tattoo ink is locked in place by the immune system https://youtu.be/nGggU-Cxhv0?si=0DZipl87lE3oDMYR

I'm beginning to think the new slogan ought to be, "There's a Kurzgesagt for that..." (vice, xkcd).

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#202

Post by gwern »

tempestn wrote: post #108
gwern wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a Swedish study, so what might be possible is using the population registry to contact siblings of the cancer patients to ask about traits like tattooing and then their health data would already be in Swedish system and linkable. This would control for a lot of the relevant confounders.

Though not those related to people's choice to get tattoos.

No, it would control for a lot of those factors. Things like impulsivity, sexuality, sensation-seeking etc. All very heritable or family-level. If you ever find any correlations reported for tattoos between family members, it's gonna look like everything else: steeply increasing with relatedness.

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#203

Post by blinkingled »

squidbeak wrote: post #188
blinkingled wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well sure, but the scalp underneath the hair that's gotta have some skin properties - sure it's thicker than the rest of the skin and has some protective properties against some forms of environmental damage but the dye does go in there and years of use should cause _some_ thing - not sure there's any research around what exactly.

In dyeing your hair, do you inject the dye beneath the epidermis?

Skin absorbs stuff without having to inject it below.

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#204

Post by hammyhavoc »

lostlogin wrote: post #160
zolbrek wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tattoo inks are regulated in the EU, my tattoo artist wasn't happy about the regulations when they were first announced a few years ago.

Some of the regulated ones still cause issues. Had one that was used to give someone eyebrows that got all toasty in an MR scanner.

Tell me more about the toasty brow please.

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#205

Post by lostlogin »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #204
lostlogin wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of the regulated ones still cause issues. Had one that was used to give someone eyebrows that got all toasty in an MR scanner.

Tell me more about the toasty brow please.

As far as I can tell, the ink contains iron oxide which conducts and heats when the RF is applied.

The person we scanned had too much pain for us to continue. The tattoo was not new. I recall another similar incident too. I also have a colleague who scanned someone with recently tattooed eyebrows and the MR caused very significant pain.

The problem would seem to be under reported (see links below which make it seem fairly rare). That said, we don’t have anyone we would report it to and rely on techs talking to each other and sharing these things - which happens regularly.

New risks are discovered fairly regularly. In recent memory: smart rings, squirreled away blood sugar monitors, penile implants, penile beads, hair extensions that are attached with wire. A low level of trust is key.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445217/

https://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10.2214/ajr.183.2.1830541...

http://www.imrser.org/pdf/shellock.tattoo.jmri.pdf

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#206

Post by voxic11 »

superturkey650 wrote: post #122
voxic11 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The FDA is not empowered to regulate medical procedures. Those are regulated by state laws and agencies. So even if tattooing was considered a medical procedure the FDA would not be able to regulate them.

They’re empowered to regulate the instruments and compounds used within medical procedures though.

Even if they don't serve a medical purpose?

Re: Possible association between tattoos and lymphoma

#207

Post by moi2388 »

pjerem wrote: post #186
moi2388 wrote: post #156

Unexpectedly, the area of tattooed body surface turned out not to matter. I’m calling bullshit.

Alcohol can cause cancer to your butt although you (probably) drink it with your mouth. It turns out human body is pretty good at moving compounds everywhere. That’s even how oral medication works.

Which is still correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed, no?

Please name a toxin that is not dependent on dosage. I claim this is then not a toxin.

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