ReviewClinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico2026
Is tattooing associated with an increased risk of cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Dermal tattoos in biomedicine: Emerging platforms for sensing and therapy.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTattoo inks may contain carcinogenic compounds, and pigment migration to lymphatic tissues raises concerns regarding potential cancer risk. Epidemiological evidence remains inconclusive.
objectivesTo assess the association between tattoo exposure and the incidence of skin cancer and hematological malignancies.
methodsPubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to January 2026 for cohort and case-control studies comparing cancer incidence in tattooed versus non-tattooed adults. Random-effects meta-analyses using restricted maximum-likelihood estimators were performed to pool odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was quantified using I
resultsSeven observational studies including 140,841 participants were analyzed. Tattoo exposure was not associated with overall skin cancer (OR 0.92; 95%CI 0.83-1.04; I
conclusionsTattoo exposure was not associated with increased skin cancer risk and showed no significant association with hematological malignancies in primary analyses. A significant association emerged only after sensitivity analysis, warranting cautious interpretation and further prospective investigation.
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Registered trials
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