A related editorial says these findings are reassuring. They suggest that the moderately increased risk of non-melanotic skin cancer is likely due to outdoor lifestyles that also lead to people catching Lyme disease. The finding of an increase in haematological malignancy in people who have had neurological forms of Lyme disease (although no apparent increase in related mortality) requires further investigation.
NICE published a guideline on Lyme disease in April 2018 (NG95). The authors of the editorial were involved in its development, and note that most of the evidence reviewed was rated as low or very low quality, and they discuss how evidence generation in this area has been poor until now. They say that with more patient involvement, “we might then be able to know for certain one day which tests can reliably rule in or rule out a diagnosis of Lyme disease and which antibiotics to prescribe for confirmed infections, at which dose, and for how long.”