Levine, P H, Peterson, D, McNamee, F L et al. · Cancer research · 1992
Some people with ME/CFS have reported concerns about developing lymphoma (a type of blood cancer). This study looked at cancer rates in Nevada before and after documented ME/CFS outbreaks in the mid-1980s to see if there was an increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases. The researchers found that cancer rates followed the same patterns as the rest of the country, with no unusual spike linked to ME/CFS.
Given reports of immune system abnormalities in ME/CFS and anecdotal concerns about increased lymphoma risk, this early population-based analysis provides important reassurance that ME/CFS outbreaks were not associated with excess lymphoid malignancies. Understanding whether ME/CFS increases cancer risk remains clinically relevant for long-term patient outcomes and surveillance strategies.
This study does not prove that ME/CFS cannot increase lymphoma risk in individuals—it only found no state-level increase during the outbreak period. The study design cannot establish causality or individual-level associations, and negative findings at the state level do not exclude clusters or increased risk in specific geographic areas or patient subgroups. Long-term follow-up of affected individuals was not available in this initial analysis.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Levine, P H, Peterson, D, McNamee, F L, O'Brien, K, Gridley, G, Hagerty, M, et al. (1992). Does chronic fatigue syndrome predispose to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?. Cancer research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1394166/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-levine-1992-does-chronic,
author = {Levine, P H and Peterson, D and McNamee, F L and O'Brien, K and Gridley, G and Hagerty, M and Brady, J and Fears, T and Atherton, M and Hoover, R},
title = {Does chronic fatigue syndrome predispose to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?},
journal = {Cancer research},
year = {1992},
note = {PubMed: 1394166},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/levine-1992-does-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/levine-1992-does-chronic
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