Associations between allergies and risk of hematologic malignancies: Results from the VITamins and lifestyle cohort study

Abstract

Immune dysregulations associated with allergies may affect cancer cell biology but studies on the relationship between allergies and risk of hematologic malignancies (HM) yielded inconsistent results. Herein, we used the VITamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort to examine this association. From 2000–2002, 66,212 participants, aged 50–76, completed a baseline questionnaire on cancer risk factors, medical conditions, allergies, and asthma. Through 2009, incident HMs (n=681) were identified via linkage to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry. After adjustment for factors possibly associated with HMs, a history of airborne allergy was associated with increased risk of HMs (hazard ratio [HR]=1.19 [95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.41], P= 0.039) in Cox proportional hazards models. This association was limited to allergies to plants/grass/trees (HR=1.26 [1.05–1.50], P=0.011) and was strongest for some mature B-cell lymphomas (HR=1.50 [1.14–2.00], P=0.005). Gender-stratified analyses revealed that the associations between airborne allergies overall and those to plants, grass, and trees were only seen in women (HR=1.47 [1.14–1.91], P=0.004; and HR=1.73 [1.32–2.25], P<0.001) but not men (HR=1.03 [0.82–1.29], P=0.782; and HR=0.99 [0.77–1.27], P=0.960). Together, our study indicates a moderately increased risk of HMs in women but not men with a history of allergies to airborne allergens, especially to plant, grass or trees.

Allergy and risk of hematologic malignancies: Associations and mechanisms

“…There have been several investigations regarding definition and measurement of allergies and the subtypes of HM assessed, however, an inverse association with history of allergies has been reported for HM as a group [4], lymphoma overall [5,6], Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), Non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) [7][8][9][10], Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) [11,12], and multiple myeloma (MM) [13] (Table 1) [14]. The study indicates a moderately increased risk of HMs in women but not in men with a history of allergies to airborne allergens, especially to plants, grass, or trees.…”

Epidemiology of MPN: What Do We Know?

“…MPNs were grouped along with other myeloid malignancies based on the WHO classification system [1]. No significant associations between allergies and myeloid neoplasms were identified [78].…”

“…The VITamins And Lifestyle cohort study was used to investigate the role of allergies in the development of haematological malignancies [78]. MPNs were grouped along with other myeloid malignancies based on the WHO classification system [1].…”

Associations between Atopic Dermatitis and Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Nationwide Population-based Study

“…[5][6][7][8][9] Over the past few decades, substantial amounts of epidemiologic and clinical data have described the associations between allergic diseases and cancer. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] However, to the best of our knowledge, only a few epidemiologic studies have examined the associations between allergic diseases and gastric cancer. One cohort study that analyzed subjects selected from a hospital discharge registry, reported that asthma was associated with reduced gastric cancer risk; 13 however, this study included patients with only severe asthma, and the number of gastric cancer cases was small.…”