Allergies Can Minimize Your Brain Cancer Risk

Glioma is a brain tumor that begins in the nervous system's glial cells, which support the signal-conducting neurons. Malignant gliomas are the most common primary tumors of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spine. These tumors are often resistant to treatment and carry a poor prognosis.

A new research now suggests that people who have more types of allergies- seasonal, medication, pet, food, and other- tend to have a lower risk of developing glioma.

"Other studies have found a correlation between allergies and glioma risk," Dr. Bridget McCarthy, an epidemiologist at Chicagos University of Illinois UICs School of Public Health, said in a press release. "In this study we confirmed that allergies are protective and found that the more allergies one has, the more protected he or she is."

Study details
To reach their findings, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) analyzed data collected from 419 glioma patients ((344 high-grade and 75 low-grade) as well as 612 patients with no history of cancer or neurodegenerative diseases, reports Medpage Today.

The study subjects, recruited from two centers, Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. and NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago, according to the health news website.

In the survey, carried out via telephone or web-based strategies, lead researcher McCarthy and colleagues asked the participants about a host of allergies i.e. seasonal, medication, pet, and food, as well as a number of other allergies, years since diagnosis, and age at diagnosis.

Study findings
After analyzing the data, the research team found that those who had more types of allergies- to food, pollen and pets- were less likely to develop either high-grade or low-grade gliomas than those who werent allergic to anything.

More precisely, of the 75 patients who had low-grade brain tumors, just 20 patients or 27 percent reported having any allergies while of the 612 healthy patients, 282 or 46 percent reported having any type of allergies.

Eleven percent reduction was seen in patients with allergies in one category and a 64 percent reduction in those with allergies in four or more categories.

The risk of glioma decreased as the number of reported allergies increased, the study found.

The more allergies you have, the more protected you were, says McCarthy.

No link found between antihistamine use and glioma risk
For their study, the researchers also recorded regular use of medications of the participants for two years or more before the survey, along with details of the brand, frequency, and duration of medication.

The data showed that the use of antihistamines, including the potential neurocarcinogen diphenhydramine hydrochloride, was not associated with glioma risk.

Our study confirms that there is a relationship between the immune system of allergy sufferers and glioma risk, said McCarthy.

A comprehensive study of allergies and antihistamine use with standardized questions and biological markers is essential to further delineate the biological mechanism that may be involved in brain tumor development.

The latest findings appear in the February issue of 'Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.'