How tattoos could raise the risk of cancer, doctors reveal - as experts warn of the particular colour that may be more harmful By Pat Hagan Published: 20:31 EST, 4 November 2024 | Updated: 20:31 EST, 4 November 2024 e-mail View comments When doctors in Australia discovered a hard mass in the breast of a 36-year-old woman known to have genetic risk factors for cancer , they immediately performed a biopsy, fearing she had an aggressive tumour. But tests quickly revealed it wasn't cancer. It was a blob of tattoo ink – the patient was heavily tattooed and some of the ink had collected in a gland in the breast, mimicking the appearance of a tumour, the surgeons reported in a medical journal in 2022.
In a second, very similar case – this time involving a 50-year-old woman – described in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology in June, a suspected cancerous lump turned out to be hardened tattoo ink. Twenty years ago, just 16 per cent of adults in the UK had a tattoo. Today, it's nearer 30 per cent as body art, once largely the preserve of sailors, bikers and rock stars, has become mainstream.
David Beckham shows off his collection of tattoos, built up over the years Now everyone, from England football legend David Beckham to Princess Eugenie, has embraced inked skin. But while the vast majority of those with tattoos experience few – if any – significant side-effects, they are by no means risk-free. Well-documented adverse reactions range from photosensitivity.
