Antiperspirants Dont Cause It - Risk Factors: Breast Cancer
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Antiperspirants don't cause it
Women who are worried that antiperspirants might cause breast cancer can finally rest easy. A study published in 2002 found that neither antiperspirants nor deodorants appear to increase the risk for breast cancer.
E-mail warnings have claimed that these products keep the body from expelling "toxins." The toxins then become trapped in the lymph nodes of the armpits, where they fuel cancer. This is untrue.
Data are now available from a study of 1,600 women participating in a larger study conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. They show no link between breast cancer and use of either an antiperspirant or a deodorant.
The authors acknowledge they had to rely on the women's memories of their deodorant and antiperspirant use, which may have been incomplete. Still, the study's careful design gives it considerable weight and should relieve women's fears.
| Last updated: | April 23, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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