On the Internet, it is common that allergic reactions prevent the development of oncological diseases. We decided to check how justified such statements are.
The fact that people suffering from allergies are less than the rest are subject to cancer, many media reports (for example, "Arguments and facts","Russian newspaper" Lenta.ru And "Fifth channel") And News Portals. This information can be found in the far -medical sites And resources About a healthy lifestyle, in social networks ("VKontakte" X) and on the blog-platforms (Livejournal, "Zen").
Immunity - One of the protective systems of the body, it is designed to fight aggressive environmental factors, for example, bacteria and viruses. But sometimes the immune system “sees” aggressors (that is, allergens) in harmless foods, animal hair, plant pollen, etc. Inadequate excess reaction The immune system to substances that themselves do not harm the body and, accordingly, should not cause such an answer, and is called allergies. Depending on which organs or tissues have come into contact with allergens, symptoms differ: the skin can begin to itch and peel off, the upper respiratory tract “respond” with sneezing and a runny nose, digestive system - pain in the abdomen and nausea. All these reactions are aimed at speedy getting rid of irritants and eliminating them from the body - for example, with mucus or dead skin scales.
The immune system "monitors" not only the external stimuli, but also the internal state of the body. Healthy Cells A cycle of growth, division and death passes in the human body. But if DNA of the cell is mutating for one reason or another, the cell may stop following this cycle: to start too quickly and uncontrollably share, not to die when its function is performed, etc. Such cells are called cancer. The immune system capable It is not possible to recognize them and destroy them and destroy them, but then cancer can develop this in a person. One of the methods of treating cancer is just immunotherapy, when the cells of the immune system specially stimulate so that they attacked tumors.
To mutations in DNA can bring Both genetic factors and acquired - the impact of radiation and carcinogenic substances, bad habits (for example, smoking or excessive alcohol use), viruses, chronic inflammations, etc. Allergic reactions aimed at withdrawal from the body of dangerous from the point of view of the immune system of substances can indirectly contribute to the excretion of carcinogens. Study, conducted in 2008 by scientists from the University of Cornell (USA), confirms that allergies have less often found oncological diseases of organs that interacted with environmental factors (for example, food or air) and responded to them with allergic reactions. Scientists have studied more than 600 scientific works published for half a century. A negative correlation was detected between the presence of allergies and the incidence of cancer of the colon, skin, bladder, oral cavity, throat, uterus and cervix, light, gastrointestinal tract. At the same time, for example, asthmawhich is similar to symptoms to allergies, on the contrary, is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer - unlike allergies, it does not provoke the release of mucus and, as a result, the excretion of foreign particles, but delays it.
Researchers who came to a similar conclusion in 2019, who Analyzed Data on allergies and the incidence of cancer of almost 2 million elderly Americans. It turned out that allergic rhinitis is associated with a lower level of incidence of laryngeal cancer, plane cell cancer, cervical cancer, tonsil cancer and vulva cancer. More modest, but significant feedbacks were marked for cancer of the esophagus (adenocarcinoma), stomach, large and rectum, liver, gall bladder, lungs, uterus, bladder and other organs. For asthma suffering from asthma, the risk of developing liver cancer was lower, while those who had eczema, on the contrary, were more likely to have fallen lymphoma.
Apparently, the role of allergies in the fight against cancer is not limited to eliminating potential carcinogens from the body. In 2011, a group of scientists from Denmark I studied The data on contact dermatitis (a form of allergic skin reaction to direct contact with chemicals) and oncological diseases detected in 17,000 patients collected in 1984-2008. It turned out that among those who suffered from allergies, the level of the disease with non -line skin cancer and breast cancer was significantly lower than that of their non -allergic fellow citizens. Also, some negative correlation was observed by cancer diseases of the brain, but the researchers did not consider it statistically significant. They argue that this relationship is due to the hypersensitivity of immunity, which leads to allergies, and also allows the body to identify mutated cells in the early stages and immediately destroy them.
In 2022, scientists from the Luxembourg Institute of Health published results The experiment, during which globlastoma cells (one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat cancer diseases) were implanted into the brain of mice), and then stimulated allergic reactions in one of the groups of animals. As a result, in this group, allergies led immune cells of the brain into a state of inflammation, and they more actively and efficiently opposed the development of tumors. The survival of these animals was much higher than in mice without allergies (their glioblastoma developed faster and more aggressive). Scientists note that the mechanisms of such an impact of allergic reactions to the fight against cancer have yet to be studied in detail, but certain patterns are already visible.
Nevertheless, allergies are inflammation In the body, and chronic inflammation can become one of the causes of genes' mutations and, as a result, the development of cancer. Despite the fact that the existing statistics can carefully talk about the reverse dependence between the allergies and the risk of developing some types of cancer, experts note that allergoncology needs a balance. After all, what can serve as a means of prevention and treatment, at the same time can lead to the development of the disease.
Thus, the studies existing today, indeed, give a reason to believe that allergies are less likely to suffer from some types of cancer. Apparently, this is due to the hypersensitivity of immunity, which more effectively reveals defective cells, as well as the physical symptoms of allergies, which remove potential carcinogens from the body. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of the influence of allergies on cancer and precancerous conditions have not yet been fully studied - the relationship has not been discovered with all types of malignant tumors, research continues. In addition, most of such studies are correlation, that is, identifying patterns, but not causal relationships. It is possible that the works do not take into account any other factors that also affect the development of cancer. In addition, there is reason to believe that allergic reactions leading to chronic inflammation can cause cancer.
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