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American Cancer Society on Parabens

SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT PARABENS IN ANTIPERSPIRANTS?

Recently, a small study found laboratory evidence of low levels of substances called parabens in some samples of breast cancer tumors. Parabens are used in some underarm products as preservatives and may have entered the breast through the underarms in these cases. A possible concern is that in other studies, parabens have been found to have weak estrogen-like properties. Estrogen is a female hormone known to cause breast cells (normal and cancerous) to grow and divide, and some conditions that increase the body’s exposure to estrogen (not having children, late menopause, obesity, etc.) have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

But there are some important points to keep in mind regarding the new findings:

The researchers looked only for the presence of parabens in breast cancer samples. The study did not show that parabens caused or contributed to breast cancer development in these cases - it only showed that they were there. The significance of this is not yet clear.
While parabens have weak estrogen-like properties, the estrogens that occur naturally in the body are hundreds to thousands of times more potent. Therefore, these natural estrogens (or those taken as hormone replacement) are much more likely to play a role in breast cancer development.
Parabens are widely used as preservatives in shampoo, lotions, and other cosmetics. This study did not contain any information useful in determining the source of parabens found in breast tissue.

The bottom line is that this is a very early finding, and larger studies will be needed to determine what effect, if any, parabens might have on breast cancer risk. This topic will undoubtedly receive a lot of scientific attention in the near future.

Source: American Cancer Society

Link: www.cancer.org

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