Melanoma Risk May Increase with Higher Fish Consumption

Fish is a staple food for millions of people around the world and is recommended by nutrition experts because of its abundance of proteins and healthy fats. But too much fish could do more bad than good, according to a new study.

After analyzing 500,000 people for a long period, the researchers concluded that the risk of developing malignant melanoma is 22% high in people who consume fish more than the equivalent of half a can of tuna per day. Melanoma is the 5^th most common cancer in the USA.

It is important to understand that the study demonstrates the trends, not the underlying cause, that is; it doesn’t prove that eating fish increases the risk of skin cancer. Because consuming fish has more benefits than side effects, so consuming fish is still preferable.

It is, however, important to examine these strong links further in the wider context of our current environment, since they make sense for such a large sample size.

The author of the study dermatologist Eunyoung Cho speculates that the findings could be attributed to contaminants in fish, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, arsenic, and mercury. So, higher fish intake means higher levels of these contaminants within the body which in turn increase the risk of skin cancer.

After including other factors such as mole count, hair colour, history of severe sunburns, and sun-related behaviours, this link was linear, meaning the more tuna you ate, the greater your cancer risk.

Biological mechanisms underpinning the observed association between fish intake and melanoma risk should be investigated in future research, according to the study's authors. No changes to fish consumption are currently recommended.