Can atopy have a protective effect against cancer?

Abstract

BackgroundAn increased prevalence of allergies and an increased incidence of breast cancer have been observed. The hypothesis that atopy may have a protective effect against the risk of different types of breast cancer was evaluated. MethodsIn this study, 11,101 patients (11,101 women with a mean age of 55.2±14.7 years) with different types of breast cancer were tested for allergies. Allergies were confirmed based on the retrospective analysis of allergy diagnostic procedures in patients who had been previously diagnosed with breast cancer. The retrospective prevalence rates of active allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis, were assessed. All patients were also analyzed for bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis according to the relevant guidelines. A group of healthy control patients was used for the comparisons. ResultsThe women with breast cancer had a significantly lower incidence of IgE-mediated allergic diseases than the controls. The odds ratios (ORs) for allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and bronchial asthma were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.57-0.73), 0.17 (95% CI: 0.11-0.44), and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.65-0.83), respectively. The mean serum concentrations of total IgE were significantly lower in the study population of women with breast cancer than in the patients of the control group (39.2 ± 26.2 kU/L vs. 108.5 ± 38.5 kU/L; p = 0.002). ConclusionOur results suggest that the overall incidence of allergies, especially allergic rhinitis, is lower in patients with certain types of cancer than in individuals who did not have cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Clinical and immunological allergy assessment in cancer patients

“…Allergy is a complex disorder that involves immune factors that may or may not depend on IgE, and few studies are available that evaluate the IgE serum dosage in cancer patients 35 , 50 – 52 . Although IgE is useful in detecting allergies, this immunoglobulin is not increased in all types of allergic reactions, which may explain the low concordance between reported allergies and positive IgE observed in this work, likewise as was reported in another study 44 .…”

“…The IgE serum measurement (type I hypersensitivity reaction marker) has been used as an objective diagnostic method for allergies. The inverse association between IgE concentration and cancer may be specific to the allergy and tumor types 6 , 20 , 34 , 35 .…”

Immunity and Breast Cancer: Focus on Eosinophils

“…Several studies have been published on breast cancer, some suggesting an inverse association between allergy and breast cancer, others showing non-significant results [ 88 , 89 ]. A recent published study by Bozek and colleagues, conducted in 11,101 breast cancer patients and 18,910 controls, showed a lower incidence of allergic diseases in cancer patients than in controls [ 90 ]. Further studies are needed to confirm this association and to analyze the underlying molecular mechanisms.…”

Tick bite induced α‐gal syndrome highlights anticancer effect of allergy

“…[12] There is an inverse relationship between allergy and cancer affecting mouth, throat, brain glia, colon, rectum, pancreas, skin, and cervix. [13,14] One explanation to this enigmatic phenomenon comes from Margie Profet who proposed a very attractive hypothesis to solve this mystery.…”