More coverage may "cause immunologic responses" that are cancer-protective, found a team of U.S. researchers.
Over the years, tattoos have shed their social stigma and body art has become increasingly commonplace. In fact, 32% of American adults now report having a tattoo, and 22% have more than one, according to 2023 data from the Pew Research Center.
And, in perhaps a surprising twist, new research says getting inked could have one massive, positive effect regarding a certain skin cancer risk. The August 2025 study, led by researchers at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, concludes that having several tattoos could slash your odds of melanoma, a particularly dangerous form of skin cancer.
To understand this link between skin cancer and tattoos, the team of cancer and epidemiology experts looked at health data from 1,167 patients diagnosed with melanoma in Utah between January 2020 and June 2021. They then compared those records against more than 5,800 healthy individuals who had never been diagnosed with skin cancer.
“Our findings suggest higher tattoo exposure such as more tattoo sessions or more large tattoos may be associated with decreased melanoma risk,” the study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), states. More specifically, they observed:
- Those who underwent at least four tattooing sessions had a 56% lower risk of melanoma
- Those who had at least three large tattoos had a 74% lower risk of melanoma
- Those who had received their first tattoo before the age of 20 had a 26% lower risk and a 56% lower risk of invasive melanoma
Meanwhile, having a single tattoo increased one’s risk of melanoma by 53%, compared with having none.
“The results seem to be mixed,” said senior researcher Jennifer Doherty, co-leader of the institute’s Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, said in a news release. “But we see people with two, three, and four tattoo sessions having decreasing risk, and that’s a stronger pattern than the increased risk with just one session,” she said.
The team admitted the results surprised them, stating that most of their findings went against their hypothesis that tattoo ink—made with potentially carcinogenic metals and other chemicals—would spike skin cancer risk. They also note that tattoos can cause an inflammatory response, a common risk factor for cancer.
But before you make the permanent decision to add new ink, there are a few caveats to know. For one, the news release points out that past research indicates tattoos could increase the risk of certain blood cancers. Additionally, the researchers suggests people with tattoos may simply do a better job of wearing sunscreen. Widely trusted research suggests that this is among the best ways to prevent melanoma, reliably reducing risk by 50%.
Says one of the study’s authors: “This isn’t a black and white case of ‘get more tattoos, and you could lower your risk of melanoma.’ Instead, we need to do more research to understand what we are seeing and if this decreased risk is simply due to behavioral or physical factors, or if there could be beneficial immune responses associated with tattooing which lower melanoma risk.”
For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:
- Keeping This One Body Part Clean Can Cut Your Risk of Pancreatic Cancer, a New Study Says
- Drinking This Hot Beverage Daily Could Help Preserve Brain Health, Found New Harvard Study
- James Van Der Beek Shares the #1 Lesson His Colon Cancer Diagnosis Taught Him
- A Virus Affecting More Than 80% of Americans “Can Directly Cause a Form of Skin Cancer,” Says New Study
