Beware of what may be hidden under a super-cool tattoo. Experts revealed that tattoos may sometime hide melanoma, especially when placed over or too close to a mole
Tattoos have become a fashion statement globally. Millions of Americans yearly get themselves tattooed. While the techniques used for inking skin have been questioned, researchers have now found another reason why people should avoid getting themselves inked.
In a research published in the journal JAMA, experts cite the example of a 29-year-old German man who went to get his tattoo removed, only to discover a cancerous mole that had been hidden by the tattoo for a while. While removing the tattoo that covered both arms and his chest, the patient was initially advised to remove the mole before proceeding with the laser treatment. The German, however, didn't follow the advice as the laser specialists weren't able to confirm whether the mole was cancerous because of the skin's pigmentation from the ink.
Sever years after the mole was detected, laser specialists refused to continue treatment until the mole was removed as a biopsy of the mole discovered a superficial malignant melanoma, the most common form of melanomas, accounting for 70 percent of all cases, reported MedPage Today.
"Fifty percent of all melanomas develop in pre-existing moles," said Dr. Hooman Khorasani , assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, told HealthDay. "It is harder to do surveillance on moles that are covered by tattoos, as the tattoo ink camouflages the mole and sometimes interferes with some of the tools we use for detection."
Dr. Ariel Ostad, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the New York University School of Medicine confirms that while there's no established evidence that tattoos increase the risk of skin cancer, people should not ink a tattoo over or even near a mole.
"It is never a good idea, however, to have a tattoo placed too close to or within a mole. Changes occurring in a mole-symmetry, border, color, size, shape, texture-are potentially key warning signs that the lesion may be evolving into a melanoma or another skin cancer, so make sure all moles are left completely visible, or it could delay detection," he wrote on the Skin Cancer Foundation's website.
According to The National Cancer Institute predictions, 76,690 new cases of melanoma will be reported and 9,480 people will die from the disease this year. The American Cancer Society added that the rates have been rising for at least 30 years, and this cancer is more than 20 times more common in white people than African Americans.
