Do You Have Chronic Hives? New Study Suggests Diagnosis May Be Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

When are Hives Linked to Cancer?

• New research published in the British Journal of Dermatology has found that people diagnosed with chronic urticaria [hives] have a 49% increased risk of developing cancer in the first year after being diagnosed.
• According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology (ACAAI), “If you’ve had red or skin-colored bumps that appeared and disappeared quickly, then it’s unlikely to be simple bug bites. The skin rash could be hives, and the itching from hives may range from mild to severe.”
• About 20% of people will be affected by hives, also known as urticaria, at some point in their lives. There are some factors that can worsen hives — like scratching, alcohol, exercise, and emotional stress, according to the ACAAI.
• Because hives could be caused by any number of issues, it’s important to be vocal when advocating for your health. If you see a doctor, don’t hesitate to ensure that your question is fully answered and that you are comfortable with any treatment plan moving forward.

People who have experienced a diagnosis of chronic hives may have a significantly higher risk of getting diagnosed with cancer, according to a new study published in a respected medical journal. New research published in the monthly peer-reviewed medical publication, the British Journal of Dermatology, have revealed that people with urticaria—a condition commonly known as hives—have a 49 percent increased risk of developing cancer in the first year after being diagnosed. However, the cancer risk was then found to decrease by six percent in the years that followed. The findings, which were published on June 27, 2024, and conducted with information from Danish healthcare databases, looked into the data from 87,507 patients between January 1980 and December 2022. Researches followed the participants for an approximate 10 years after they were first diagnosed with urticaria in the hospital.

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Overall, the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for all types of cancer was found to be was 0.7 percent in the first year after diagnosis, and 29.5 percent for subsequent years, based on 7,788 observed, compared to 7,161 expected cases. Cancer was found in 588 people with urticaria in the first year after diagnosis and 7,200 people later on. The findings "found strong associations with hematological cancers (e.g., non-Hodgkin lymphoma)" in the first year after diagnosis of urticaria. Additionally, the stage of the cancers were similar to people with or without a previous urticaria diagnosis. RELATED: 16-Year-Old Student Thought She Was Just Allergic to Watermelon; Turns Out She Had a Blood Cancer The study authors stated that their study "suggests that urticaria may be a marker of occult cancer and that it is associated with a slightly increased long-term cancer risk. "Incident cancers, including nonmelanoma skin cancer, were identified using the Danish Cancer Registry and classified by the extent of spread at the time of diagnosis," Medscape Oncology , who reviewed the study, explains. It's important to take this information with caution. Medscape Oncolgy notes, "The study is limited by its observational design and reliance on registry data, which may be subject to misclassification or incomplete information. "Additionally, the study could not assess individual patient factors such as lifestyle or genetic predispositions that may influence cancer risk, and the results may not be generalizable to other populations. Finally, the exact biologic mechanisms linking urticaria and cancer remain unclear, warranting further investigation."

Understanding Urticaria

According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology (ACAAI), "If you’ve had red or skin-colored bumps that appeared and disappeared quickly, then it’s unlikely to be simple bug bites. The skin rash could be hives, and the itching from hives may range from mild to severe. "Hives, also known as urticaria [a skin condition characterized by itchy, raised white lumps surrounded by inflammation], affects about 20 percent of people at some time during their lives. Scratching, alcoholic beverages, exercise and emotional stress may worsen the itching." Symptoms of hives consist of:

• Raised itchy bumps, either red or skin-colored
• "Blanching" (when pressure if applied to the hive, the color of its center turns white)

Triggers of hives may include:

• Allergies to food, like peanuts or shellfish
• Allergies to medication
• Bug bites or stings
• Exposure to cold, heat, exercise of sun exposure
• Allergy to latex, pet dander, pollen, plants
• Bacterial or viral infections

The ACAAI explains, "A single episode of hives does not usually call for extensive testing. If a food allergy is suspected, consider keeping track of what you eat. This will help you discover whether there is a link between what you’re eating and when you break out with hives. RELATED: Champagne Allergy Led Cancer Diagnosis For Olivia Williams, Who Played Camilla Parker Bowles on ‘The Crown’– The 4-Year Mystery & Her Recovery "Chronic hives should be evaluated by an allergist, who will ask about your and your family’s medical history, substances to which you are exposed at home and at work, exposure to pets or other animals and any medications you’ve taken recently. If you have been keeping a food diary, show it to your allergist." Advocating for Yourself While Navigating the Medical World

Pushing For a Correct Diagnosis

When it comes to your health and new symptoms you're experiencing, it's OK to be a little pushy. You know your body better than anyone else. When you see a doctor for a problem, don't hesitate to make sure that your question is fully answered and that you are comfortable with the plan moving forward. From a doctor's perspective, every problem should have a diagnosis, a treatment, a plan for follow-up, and a plan for what happens next if the treatment doesn't work. As a patient, if you don't feel like each of these four things has been accomplished, just ask! Even if it requires multiple visits or seeing additional providers for a second opinion, always be your own advocate. Dr. Zuri Murrell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet that healthcare guidelines are meant to do the right thing for the largest number of people while using the fewest resources. "The truth is you have to be in tune with your body, and you realize that you are not the statistic," he said. Dr. Murrell says not every patient will "fit into" the mold, so it's important to "educate yourself and be your own health care advocate." "Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn't work, what the next plan is," Dr. Murrell said. "And I think that that's totally fair. And me as a health professional that's what I do for all of my patients."

Avoiding Provider Bias – Is Your Doctor Understanding You?

While your doctor has undergone years of training and practice, they are still human, and may come with their own set of biases that can impact how they treat patients. To combat these biases and really get the most out of your interactions with your doctor, you should provide her or him with plenty of information about your life and ask plenty of questions when things aren’t clear. To better understand how you should approach conversations with your doctor, we previously spoke with Dr. Dana Chase , gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology. According to Dr. Chase, physicians, like many of us, can be a bit biased when seeing patients. She made it clear that these biases are rarely sinister, but rather unconscious and more subtle. She explained, “We have certain beliefs that we don’t know about. We might look, for example, at an older woman, and just by the way she looks we might make certain assumptions, and we might not even know that we’re making these assumptions.” Let’s Talk About Provider Bias Clearing up misconceptions is important, but so is understanding what your doctor is telling you, Dr. Chase noted. Overall, she advises women to speak up and ask questions when they don’t understand something. “It’s never a bad thing to ask for something to be repeated, or to ask the doctors to explain it in different terms.” So next time you go to your physician, speak up if you need clarity, so your doctor can understand you and you can understand them.

When to Seek a Second Opinion

Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions Getting another opinion may also help you avoid doctor biases. Medical experts often support their patients seeking out multiple opinions. It's part of ensuring they're getting the best care possible. There are plenty of reasons to consider getting another opinion, including:

• To see a doctor who has more experience treating your illness
• You have a rare disease
• There are several ways to treat your illness
• You feel like your doctor isn't listening to you, or isn't giving you good advice
• You have trouble understanding your doctor
• You don't like the treatment your doctor is recommending, or you're worried about its possible side effects
• Your insurance company wants you to get another medical opinion
• Your condition is not improving on your current treatment

Bottom line, being proactive about your health could be a matter of life or death. Learn as much as you can from as many experts as you can, so that you know that you did your best to take control of your health. Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff