Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40278967›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of epidemiology2025

Tattoos and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a population-based case-control study.

Emelie Rietz Liljedahl, Malin Engfeldt, Kari Nielsen, Anna Jöud, Christel Nielsen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Is tattooing associated with an increased risk of cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Emelie Rietz LiljedahlDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. emelie.rietz_liljedahl@med.lu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8742-5383
Malin EngfeldtDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Kari NielsenDepartment of Dermatology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Anna JöudDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Christel NielsenDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The prevalence of tattoos in western countries is about 20%. Tattoo ink may contain carcinogenic compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate if tattoo exposure is associated with an increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in individuals. In this population-based case-control study, 2857 cases aged 20 to 60 years, diagnosed between 2014 and 2017, were identified in the Swedish Cancer Registry. Statistics Sweden identified 3 random age- and sex-matched controls per case from the Swedish Total Population Register using incidence-density sampling. In 2019, participants answered a questionnaire regarding lifestyle factors, including tattoos and sun habits. We used logistic regression to investigate if tattoo exposure was associated with the relative risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. 61% of the cases and 53% of the controls replied to the questionnaire. Among the 1600 cases and the 4551 controls that participated, 15.1% and 17.6% had at least one tattoo before the index date. We found no increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in tattooed compared with non-tattooed individuals (incidence rate ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-1.15). Tattoo exposure was not associated with the risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in this first study of the association. However, more epidemiologic studies are needed before consensus regarding a lack of association can be reached.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellSkin NeoplasmsTattooingAdultCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedRegistriesRisk FactorsSwedenYoung AdultHealth risksKeratinocyte cancerLifestyle factorsNon-melanoma skin cancerRisk factorsTattoo

Identifiers

PMID40278967
PMCPMC12145309

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.