From ads in magazines and on television to even NFL games, November’s color is pink. Over the last several years, Breast Cancer Awareness month (November) has been synonymous with pink ribbons and pink in all types of ads and even the products you buy at the grocery store. While this campaign is tied to raising money and awareness of breast cancer, I wanted to draw this back to allergies.

Not many people would think there is a connection between allergies and cancer, yet decades of research has shown a variety of linkages between these two things. Some studies have shown a negative relationship, meaning allergies may actually work to prevent certain types of cancers. Other studies have shown a positive relationship, that some allergies correlate with higher rates of cancer. These seem like two completely contradictory findings, yet, in reality, both may be true.

In 2008 we wrote a piece first introducing some of the research behind these two. Since then several studies have expounded upon the links between allergies and cancer. Some have refined the connection between the two while a couple have actually shed some potential insight into new ways to treat cancer. So in the spirit of raising awareness, Allergies and Cancer has been revised and edited to incorporate some of the latest research on this topic.