Can Tattoo Ink Cause Skin Cancer

As tattooing injects inks such asbenzo apyrene directly into the dermis damaging the skin.

Can tattoo ink cause skin cancer. Those skin cancers could certainly be within tattoos coincidentally. That means it is a substance that is capable of causing cancer. Getting a tattoo alone is unlikely to cause skin cancer but there may be risks associated with certain ingredients in tattoo ink.

It is found in the tattoo ink. Recent examples of skin cancer after a tattoo include case reports or individual patient descriptions of basal cell carcinoma forming in an eyebrow tattoo and another of. Moreover the risk of skin cancer from tattoos increase if the tattoo is done on a mole or a birthmark.

In all the literature only about 64 cases of skin cancer in tattoos have been reported says Ilene Rothman MD Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Dermatology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Red ink may have mercurial sulfide and certain coloured inks often contain lead cadmium chromium nickel titanium and other heavy metals. One chemical commonly used to make black tattoo ink called benzo apyrene is known to be a potent carcinogen that causes skin cancer in animal tests.

If a tattoo is drawn using non sterile ink then that can lead to diseases like Hepatitis B which in turn can increase the chances of cancer in a human body. You could conclude it may contribute to skin cancer. Reported cases dont mean cause and effect.

Research by the European Chemicals Agency. Toxicology of Tattoo Ink and Cancer Tattoo-related complications began to be reported in the late 19th century. 1 hour agoTattoo ink can also make the lymph nodes look darker much like what happens with melanoma a skin cancer.

Hollmig said he sees skin cancer in and around tattoos but its hard to say whether its the ink causing the illness. In short the answer is no. This might mean that doctors take.