Tattoos Might Protect Against Melanoma -- And The More, The Better

Key TakeawaysTattoos might protect against melanomaPeople with more tattoos were less likely to develop melanomaThey might take better care of their skin, or the tats might provide some sort of screen from UV rays, researchers say.MONDAY, Sept. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Getting that tattooed arm sleeve or back design of your dreams might protect you against deadly skin cancer, a new study says.People who’ve had two or more sessions under the tattoo needle show a lower risk of melanoma, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.Further, the risk decreased with the number of tattoos a person has, results show.People who underwent four or more tattoo sessions had a 56% lower risk for melanoma, compared to those who’ve never been inked, researchers found.Likewise, people with three or more large tattoos had a 74% lower melanoma risk, the study says.“The results that tattoos could decrease melanoma risk surprised us, but this isn’t a black and white case of ‘get more tattoos, and you could lower your risk of melanoma,’” lead researcher Rachel McCarty, a post-doctoral scientist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, said in a news release.“Instead, we need to do more research to understand what we are seeing and if this decreased risk is simply due to behavioral or physical factors, or if there could be beneficial immune responses associated with tattooing which lower melanoma risk,” McCarty said.For example, it might be that people who get tattoos regularly are more cautious with sun safety and take better care of their skin, researchers said.It might also be that the tattoo ink forms a physical barrier that blocks UV radiation, or that they promote an immune response in the skin that targets precancerous cells, they speculated.For the study, researchers compared 1,167 melanoma cases that occurred in Utah between Jan. 2020 and June 2021, and compared them against more than 5,800 healthy individuals.“The Mountain West and the area we serve have some of the highest melanoma rates in the country,” researcher Dr. Douglas Grossman, co-leader of the Melanoma Center at at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, said in a news release.“Better understanding risk factors for melanoma will help us improve prevention strategies across the region, advise our patients about risks more accurately, and ultimately save lives,” Grossman said.About 12% of people with melanoma in the study had tattoos, compared to 15% among the control group, researchers said.Getting just one tattoo was associated with a 53% increased risk of melanoma compared with never getting a tattoo, results show.But more tattoos were tied to a lower melanoma risk, researchers found.“For melanoma, the results seem to be mixed,” senior researcher Jennifer Doherty, an investigator with the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, said in a news release.“But we see people with two, three, and four tattoo sessions having decreasing risk, and that’s a stronger pattern than the increased risk with just one session,” Doherty said.Researchers also found that getting a first tattoo before age 20 was associated with a 26% lower risk of melanoma and 52% lower risk of dangerous invasive melanoma.Despite these findings, folks with tattoos should continue making smart choices when it comes to skin protection, McCarty said.“Tattoo artists already advise their clients to wear sunscreen and sun protection to prevent tattoos from fading,” McCarty said.“We know wearing sunscreen is an important safety step for everyone, even without tattoos,” McCarty continued. “But it’s also important for those with tattoos to take extra precautions to prevent any additional harmful components from forming in the skin when pigments break down from UV exposure.”More informationThe Mayo Clinic has more on the known risks of tattoos.SOURCES: Huntsman Cancer Institute, news release, Sept. 17, 2025; Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Aug. 25, 2025.What This Means For YouTattoos might protect against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Tattoos Might Protect Against Melanoma -- And The More, The Better

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