title: Atopy and development of cancer: a population-based prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopy is the familial or personal propensity to develop IgE antibodies against environmental allergens. Atopy, theoretically, could both prevent and promote the development of cancer. However, evidence from epidemiologic studies has been inconclusive.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the longitudinal association between atopy and the incidence of total and specific types of cancers of 5 Danish population-based studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Atopy was defined as serum specific IgE positivity against inhalant allergens. A total of 14,849 persons were followed up prospectively by linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry. We used Cox regression analysis, and risk was expressed as hazard ratios (HR) (95% CIs) for persons with atopy versus those without atopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1919 incident cancers (median follow-up, 11.8 years). There were no statistically significant associations between atopy and risk of any cancer (HR 1.00 [95% CI, 0.89-1.12]), any cancer excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer (HR 0.93 [95% CI, 0.82-1.07]), head and neck cancer (HR 1.74 [95% CI, 0.98-3.09]), colorectal cancer (HR 0.92 [95% CI, 0.64-1.32]), cancer of the bronchus and lung (HR 0.78 [95% CI, 0.54-1.13]), breast cancer (HR 1.00 [95% CI, 0.73-1.37]), cancer of the uterus (HR 0.90 [95% CI, 0.43- 1.88]), prostate cancer (HR 0.79 [95% CI, 0.53-1.18]), urinary cancer (HR 1.08 [95% CI, 0.60-1.96]), malignant melanoma (HR 0.95 [95% CI, 0.54-1.66]), and nonmelanoma skin cancer (HR 1.20 [95% CI, 0.98-1.47]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data did not support the hypothesis that atopy is associated with an altered risk of total cancer development, although effects of atopy on specific types of cancer cannot be excluded.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark. Electronic address: tea.skaaby.01@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Tea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skaaby
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lise Lotte
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Nystrup Husemoen
authors.affiliation: Danish Cancer Society Research Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roswall
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
authors.forename: Betina Heinsbaek
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Thuesen
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Experimental Research, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Linneberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Atopy; Breast cancer; Cancer; Colorectal cancer; Head and neck cancer; Inhalant allergens; Lung cancer; Nonmelanoma skin cancer; Prostate cancer; Serum specific IgE