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Deodorant Not Linked to Breast Cancer
Excerpt
By Suzanne Rostler, Reuter's Health
NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - Contrary to Internet lore,
women who use antiperspirant or deodorant are not at increased
risk for breast cancer, researchers report.
Their study of more than 1,500 women is the first clinical trial
to investigate the widely circulating rumor. While several cancer
organizations have issued statements that there is no reason to
suspect personal hygiene products as a risk factor for breast cancer,
many women remain afraid. In particular, some women believe that
products contain harmful substances that can be absorbed, particularly
by skin that has become cut or irritated by shaving.
The current report, published in
the October 16th issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute,
may ease these fears, Dana Mirick of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center in Seattle, the study's lead author, told Reuters
Health.
"Hopefully, upon hearing reports
of these results, the public will become less concerned that the
use of these products could increase one's risk for breast cancer,"
Mirick said.
She added that the widespread use
of underarm products might explain why such a rumor spread in
the first place.
"I suspect that it frightened so
many women because such a high percentage of people use one of
these products," Mirick said.
The investigators interviewed 813
women with breast cancer and 793 healthy women aged 20 to 74 about
their personal habits when it came to shaving under their arms
and applying deodorant or antiperspirant.
The use of deodorant or antiperspirant
did not raise the risk of breast cancer, according to an analysis
of the findings. Similarly, there was no relationship between
underarm shaving and using products within 1 hour of shaving.
"These findings do not support
the hypothesis that antiperspirant use increases the risk for
breast cancer," the study concludes.
SOURCE: Journal of the National
Cancer Institute 2002;94:1578-1580.
Reference
Source 89
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