One in five French people is tattooed
In France, one in five people is tattooed. Indeed, a report on the tattoo market in France, published in 2023, estimates that 20% of the French population has one or more tattoos.
If the first tattoos date back several millennia, notably in ancient Egypt, among the Celts or among Polynesian peoples, their popularity appeared a few decades ago.
If you are tattooed, you will know that “creating” a tattoo is something painful. It must be said that during the sessions, which can last several hours, the tattoo artists use needles containing ink which pierce the skin, penetrating the dermis which corresponds to the intermediate layer of your skin.
But if the pain it causes eventually fades over time, tattooing could promote the appearance of a form of skin cancer, according to a new study.
A study of two different forms of skin cancer
In an article published in The ConversationChristel Nielsen, associate professor and epidemiology at Lund University, Sweden, explains having carried out a study concerning the link between tattoos and the risk of skin cancer.
To do this, she and her team identified all people aged 20 to 60 who were diagnosed with melanoma in 2017 or squamous cell carcinoma between 2014 and 2017, two of the most common forms of skin cancer.
As the professor points out, even if these two cancers have a common cause, they develop from different types of cells and differ in their severity, with melanoma being much more dangerous.
This included 2,880 cases of melanoma and 2,821 cases of squamous cell carcinoma. A questionnaire about their tattoos, including their size, location and the age at which they first got a tattoo, was then sent to them.
The study was divided into two: the first with 5,695 people who participated in the study on melanoma (1,598 suffering from this form of skin cancer) and the second with 6,151 who participated in the study on squamous cell carcinoma (1,600 suffering from this cancer).
People with tattoos are 29% more likely to develop the most dangerous form of skin cancer
The results of this study, published on November 24, 2025 in the journal European Journal of Epidemiology,showed that people with tattoos are 29% more likely to develop melanoma than those who are not. An increased risk, however, was not observed in people with squamous cell carcinoma.
According to the researchers, this increased risk of developing melanoma could be due to tattoo ink, which does not remain confined to the skin and is seen by the immune system as a foreign substance.
The ink particles will then be transported to the lymph nodes, small bean-shaped organs essential for the body's defense. Their more or less prolonged presence could potentially lead to chronic inflammation, which would be associated with the development of cancer.
However, the Lund University research team specifies that their study alone is not enough to say that tattoos cause skin cancer, and that additional research, longer and taking into account factors such as exposure to the sun, skin type or even smoking, is necessary.
Source: ScienceAlert
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
