Underarm antiperspirants could
be linked to an increased risk of
breast cancer, claims a scientist.

Dr Philippa Darbre, a cancer
researcher at the University of
Reading, says the latest research
suggests the ingredients found
in many over-the-counter
products could trigger the
development of tumours.
She believes compounds of
aluminium and zirconium in the
cosmetics could affect hormone
levels, raising the risk of cancer.

The substances help prevent sweating in
roll- on and spray underarm antiperspirants.
Though some simple deodorants, designed
just to mask odour, do not contain them,
most do.
Antiperspirants prevent sweating, while
deodorants are simply designed to make
people smell more appealing.
Manufacturers insist products are entirely
safe.

They declared themselves ' baffled' by Dr
Darbre's conclusions, pointing out that
several large studies have failed to find any
link between cosmetics and cancer.

In Britain, new cases of breast cancer have
doubled from about 20,000 a year in the
late 1970s to almost 40,000 a year now.
Britain has one of the world's highest rates
of the disease and every year about 13,000
British women die from it.
Britons are also big users of deodorants and
antiperspirants, spending £400m a year on
them.

Dr Darbre, a cancer researcher in the
department of cell and molecular biology at
Reading, has just published a
comprehensive review of research on the
issue, which she has been investigating for
almost a decade.
"The nature of the chemicals in these
cosmetics and the lack of any advice about
safe quantity or frequency of application,
should be of concern," she says.
Dr Darbre claims the strongest evidence for
the theory is the 'disproportionately high
incidence' of breast cancer in the upper
outer quadrant of the breast where
antiperspirants are applied.

Her review, published in the Journal of
Applied Toxicology, points out that the rise
of breast cancer in men parallels the
increase in women, and has also doubled
over the past three decades to about 300
cases a year.
Most tumours in both sexes occur in the
upper and outer section of the left breast,
the proportion in that area having increased
from 31 per cent in 1926 to 61 per cent in
1994.
If the use of antiperspirants is to blame, this
would be accounted for by the fact most
people are right-handed and likely to apply
more deodorant to their left armpit, Dr
Darbre said.
Formation of breast tumours, Dr Darbre
says, is known to be linked to hormone
levels.

Laboratory experiments have indicated that
chemical compounds derived from
zirconium and aluminium may be linked to
hormone disruption.
However, scientists stress there is no
evidence the small quantities of the
chemicals found in antiperspirants may be
dangerous.
Dr Chris Flower, of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and
Perfumery Association, said that under
European and UK law cosmetic products
undergo a full safety assessment.

He pointed out that Dr Darbre had been
claiming for many years that different
substances in antiperspirants, called
parabens, might be causing breast cancer.
"She now seems to have shifted to
aluminium and zirconium," he said. "I'm not
quite sure what it is she doesn't like about
deodorants, but one might almost feel that
she had it in for them."
Dr Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK scientist
based at Oxford University, said breast
cancer rates had gone up because British
women were drinking more alcohol, were
fatter and were having children later - all
factors known to increase the risk.
He added: "There is no need for concern
about deodorants, in my view.
"The way science works is that someone
puts an idea forward and others follow it if
they think it is worth doing so.
"At the moment, not many people think this
is a worthwhile line of investigation."

One recent study of 1,500 women found no
evidence to support the hypothesis that
antiperspirant use increases the risk of
developing breast cancer.
The study was carried out after rumours of
a causative link were circulated on the
Internet.
Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Centre, Seattle, found there was no
increased risk of breast cancer among
women who used antiperspirant or
deodorant.

SOURCE:
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-185034/Can-deodorants-cause-cancer.html