Scientists looking into the interplay of the immune system and cancer have found a link between a history of airborne allergies—in particular to plants, grass and trees—and risk of blood cancers in women. The study, which is published online in the American Journal of Hematology, did not find the same association in men.
In the study, more than 66,000 participants were followed for a median of eight years. Of the participants, 681 developed a hematologic malignancy during the follow-up period. A history of allergies to airborne antigens was associated with a higher risk of hematologic malignancies.
Further, the study looked at associations between the different subtypes of allergies and hematologic malignancies and found that a history of allergies to plants, grass, and trees was significantly associated with mature B-cell neoplasms, one of four major categories of lymphoma. There was also an increased risk of plasma-cell neoplasms for participants who reported a history of allergies to cats, dogs, or other animals. When stratified by gender, the incidence of blood cancers in response to these allergens was increased in women but not in men, perhaps because of women’s lower baseline risk for the development of hematologic malignancies, or perhaps due to hormonal effects on the immune system.
According to first author Mazyar Shadman, MD, MPH, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the study results are consistent with “increasing evidence that dysregulation of the immune system, such as you find in allergic and autoimmune disorders, can affect survival of cells in developing tumors.” Read the study abstract.
