A chemical present in cosmetics, food products and pharmaceuticals has been found in tissue samples from 40 women with breast cancer. A number of studies since 1998 have raised concerns about the potential role of these chemicals called parabens in breast cancer as they possess estrogenic properties. Estrogen is known to play a central role in the development, growth and progression of breast cancer.
Parabens are a chemical compound of para-hydroxybenzoic acid. They are most widely used in cosmetics to extend their shelf-life by protecting them from microbial growth. Commonly used are methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Benzylparaben and sobutylparaben are less common. Parabens are found in everyday toiletry products including moisturisers, make-up, shaving foam, tanning lotions and toothpaste. They are also found in numerous brands of underarm deodorant. However, a causal link has never been found between them and breast cancer. They are also found in processed meats such as sausages, pies and pastries along with other savory snacks.
The research team led by Dr Philippa Darbre from the University of Reading studied tissue samples from 40 women undergoing mastectomies between 2005 and 2008 for first primary breast cancer in England. In the study, published online in January in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, Darbre and her colleagues report that one or more kinds of parabens were found in 158 of the 160 samples taken from the tissue collected from the 40 women. They found 96 samples contained all five of the most common paraben esters (forms). They found 99 per cent of the tissue samples contained at least one paraben and 60 per cent of the samples had five. The team found women who didn't use underarm deodorants still had measurable parabens in their tissue, suggesting they must enter the breast from other sources.
Co-author Lester Barr from the University Hospital of South Manchester, said, “Our study appears to confirm the view that there is no simple cause and effect relationship between parabens in underarm products and breast cancer. The intriguing discovery that parabens are present even in women who have never used underarm products raises the question: where have these chemicals come from?”
Dr Darbre added, “The fact that parabens were detected in the majority of the breast tissue samples cannot be taken to imply that they actually caused breast cancer in the 40 women studied. However, the fact that parabens were present in so many of the breast tissue samples does justify further investigation.”
Responding to research, Catherine Priestley, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Breast Cancer Care said, “The debate about the link between parabens and breast cancer is not a new one, and this report serves to highlight the need for further research. There is currently no conclusive evidence to suggest that the use of products containing parabens is directly linked to the development of breast cancer. Whilst there are a number of factors that may slightly increase the risk of a person developing breast cancer, increasing age, gender (being female) and a significant family history are the three main risk factors. It is important that people should have access to information on this issue and about their risk factors for breast cancer so that they can make informed lifestyle choices.”
However, Darbre cautioned that the research cannot be taken to imply cause and effect. “Although estrogen is an acknowledged component in the development of breast cancer, it remains to be established as to whether environmental chemicals with estrogenic (estrogen-like) properties contribute a functional component to the disease process,” she said. “I remain as ambivalent as ever about hounding any one chemical,” she added. “I feel sure the issue is bigger than one chemical.” Darbre believes the parabens found in breast tissue come from a wider range of products than underarm cosmetic products. More research is needed, Darbre noted. Meanwhile, she suggests women cut down or cut out the use of cosmetic products as much as possible. “We simply use too much in the modern world - too much for our body systems and too much for the wider environment,” she said.
Marisa Weiss, does not believe in taking chances with breast health. Weiss, the president and founder of Breastcancer.org and director of Breast Radiation Oncology and Breast Health Outreach at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pa., is a breast cancer survivor. “There are parabens in many personal products that can be taken into the body in different ways and can stay in you,” she says. “Our tissues can be storage lockers for chemical such as parabens.” “Better safe than sorry,” she says. “Avoid products that contain hormonally active ingredients, including parabens.”
Linda Loretz, is the director of Safety and Regulatory Toxicology for the Personal Care Products Council, a Washington D.C.-based trade group representing the global cosmetic and personal care products industry. She reviewed the new findings for WebMD. “The paraben levels don't correlate with tumor location, estrogen, or any attribute of breast cancer, so it is hard to find any real meaning in these findings,” she says. “This study underscores the folly of trying to blame a specific consumer product for not only exposure to certain chemicals, but for exposure to those chemicals being responsible for causing a specific disease,” says Jeff Stier. Sharima Rasanayagam, the director of science for the Breast Cancer Fund, a San Francisco, Calif.-based advocacy group that focuses on environmental links to breast cancer. “This study provides another piece in the puzzle around parabens and their potential link to breast cancer,” she says. “We know that parabens are estrogen mimickers, and so we continue to be concerned about our exposure to these chemicals through consumer products like cosmetics,” Rasanayagam says.
For its part, the American Cancer Society finds no clear link between deodorant/antiperspirants and breast cancer. In a posting on its Web page, it notes that, “There are no strong epidemiological studies in the medical literature that link breast cancer risk and antiperspirant use, and very little scientific evidence to support this claim.”
Dr. Michael J. Thun, vice president emeritus of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society, reviewed the new study findings. The fact that the preservatives were found in the majority of the breast tissue samples cannot be taken to imply they actually caused the breast cancer, he said, reiterating a point the authors also emphasized. “Rather,” Thun said, “the study merely confirms earlier, smaller studies which detected parabens in breast tissue of women with cancer. It shows that parabens can be absorbed (probably from personal care products) and the underarm deodorant is not the only source.”
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