July 11, 2011

expert reaction to paper on allergies and cancer risk in BMJ Open

New research examined the association between allergies and the risk of developing cancer.

David Coggon, Professor Of Occupational And Environmental Medicine, MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, said:

“The possibility that allergy might protect against some types of cancer is intriguing. However, this study has major limitations, only some of which are acknowledged by the researchers, and the findings add little to what we already know on the topic.”

Professor Lawrence Young, Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, said:

“This is yet another piece of evidence highlighting the ability of our body’s immune system to fight cancer. It supports a lot of work exploring the use of vaccines to both treat and prevent cancer.”

‘Association between cancer and contact allergy: a linkage study’ by Kaare Engkilde et al., published in BMJ Open on 11th July 2011.