Long-suffering victims of allergies such as asthma and
hay fever might enjoy a surprise benefit, according to
research led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
In a paper presented at an international symposium in
Sydney, the researchers show that people with one of these
atopic diseases are up to 25 percent less likely to get
the most common type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).
The InterLymph Symposium is co-hosted by the Leukaemia
Foundation, the Cancer Institute NSW, UNSW and the National
Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research.
The more atopic diseases the individual has, the less
likely they are to succumb to NHL. If an individual has
three of these conditions, they are 40 percent less likely
to get NHL.
Having had asthma and hay fever for a long time, also
appears to be of greater benefit.
The result is significant given that the incidence of
NHL in developed countries has escalated dramatically in
the past 50 years. It is three times more prevalent now
than it was in 1950, making it the sixth most common cause
of cancer death in Australia, yet the cause of most cases
remains unknown.
"This was a surprise result," said the lead
author, Dr Claire Vajdic. "The only known strong risk
factors for NHL are immune deficiency and certain infections.
This occurs in people with uncontrolled HIV infection,
and those who have had a solid organ transplant.
"So we thought other forms of immune dysregulation
such as atopic diseases - including hayfever, asthma and
food allergies - might relate to the development of lymphoma.
It was therefore intuitive to think that these conditions
would increase the risk, but in fact, they do the reverse," she
said.
The research found that risk was reduced in B-cell NHL
only. This is the most common type of NHL.
"While the relevant biological mechanisms are not
yet known, the pooled data indicate that chronic and multiple
atopic conditions impart the greatest reduction in risk," said
Dr Vajdic. "Investigation of the genetic and environmental
factors underlying atopy and the apparent inverse effect
of atopy on NHL risk will inform our understanding of the
complex biological pathways that may be involved."
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press
release.
----------------------------
The research involved a pooled analysis of data from 13
case-control studies involving 13,535 NHL cases and 16,388
control participants, funded by the Leukaemia Foundation.
Source: Susi Hamilton
University of New South Wales
