subject: Asthma and eczema: Defences against cancer? [print this page] "Asthma and eczema are singular allergic diseases caused by an overreaction by the immune system, a condition which might help to eliminate abnormal cells more effectively and thus reduce the risk of cancer," explains Professor Marie- Claude Rousseau of the National Institute of Scientific Research-Institut Armand-Frappier, co-author of the study.
The researchers analyzed data collected during a study on occupational exposures and cancer, conducted between August 1979 and March 1986 with 3,300 men aged 35-70 years, diagnosed with cancer, and a group control of 512 people without cancer from the general population. Their goal: to use these statistics to identify a possible link between allergy (speaking by asthma or eczema) and eight types of cancers among the most common.
Although the study does not identify which specific factors linked to asthma and eczema are responsible for reducing cancer risk, it opens up new avenues of research to understand the molecular mechanisms immunological involved in immunostimulation, which could be a promising strategy for preventing cancer. The results, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology indeed show that men with eczema have a lower risk of developing lung cancer, while a history of asthma have a similar effect against cancer stomach.
Thinking that another type of treatment could improve things is a vain hope. Also according CETE study, the mere fact of having asthma increases the risk of developing this cancer by 25% male, without special medication.
These results should be tempered because they come from a small study. Further research is therefore to be made to clarify. In the meantime, people with asthma should not stop their treatment. While asthma and cancer are both products of inflammation of the body, the link between these two disorders may be only tenuous.
