Tattoo Tuesday - Christmas Time is Here By Golly

Disapproval would be folly:

RV Travel, Study suggests having multiple tattoos lowers melanoma risk

People with more than one tattoo session may have a decreased risk of the skin cancer melanoma—with one key caveat, according to research from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

Although RVtravel.com readers, who are generally 55 years and older, have fewer tattoos than younger people, the results are worth noting. RVers, being out and about more than the general public, likely sustain more sun damage than their stay-at-home peers, which increases skin cancer risks.

A team led by Jennifer Doherty, Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator, co-leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, and professor of population health sciences at the University of Utah, evaluated 7,000 Utahns and found that having two or more tattoo sessions decreased the risk of both invasive and in situ melanoma. In situ melanoma means the cancer cells remain on the skin’s surface and are more easily removed.

But the researchers also found that participants with only one tattoo session were more likely to have melanoma, especially in situ. The reasons why that may be the case are speculative, and more research is needed to understand this disparate pattern.

Remember, more than half of medical research can't be replicated.