Talcum Powder and Cancer - American Cancer Society

Talcum powder is made from talc, a mineral made up mainly of the elements magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. As a powder, it absorbs moisture ... Search prod | Downloadthistopic[PDF] ChemicalsandCancer Acrylamide AgentOrange Antiperspirants Arsenic Asbestos Aspartame Benzene Cosmetics DieselExhaust Firefighting Formaldehyde HairDyes MilitaryBurnPits RecombinantBovineGrowthHormone PerfluorooctanoicAcid(PFOA),PerfluorooctaneSulfonate(PFOS),andRelatedChemicals TalcumPowder WaterFluoridation Home Risk,Prevention,&Screening WhatCausesCancer? ChemicalsandCancer TalcumPowderandCancer Whatistalcumpowder? Talcumpowderismadefromtalc,amineralmadeupmainlyoftheelementsmagnesium,silicon,andoxygen.Asapowder,itabsorbsmoisturewellandhelpscutdownonfriction,makingitusefulforkeepingskindryandhelpingtopreventrashes.Itiswidelyusedincosmeticproductssuchasbabypowderandadultbodyandfacialpowders,aswellasinanumberofotherconsumerproducts. Initsnaturalform,sometalccontainsasbestos,asubstanceknowntocausecancersinandaroundthelungswheninhaled(seeAsbestos). In1976,theCosmetic,Toiletry,andFragrancesAssociation(CTFA),whichisthetradeassociationrepresentingthecosmeticandpersonalcareproductsindustry,issuedvoluntaryguidelinesstatingthatalltalcusedincosmeticproductsintheUnitedStatesshouldbefreefromdetectableamountsofasbestosaccordingtotheirstandards. Mostconcernsaboutapossiblelinkbetweentalcumpowderandcancerhavebeenfocusedon: Whetherpeoplewhohavelong-termexposuretotalcparticles atwork,suchastalcminers,areathigherriskoflungcancerfrombreathingthemin. Whetherwomenwhoapplytalcumpowderregularlyinthegenitalareahaveanincreasedriskofovariancancer. Doestalcumpowdercausecancer? Whentalkingaboutwhetherornottalcumpowderislinkedtocancer,itisimportanttodistinguishbetweentalcthatcontainsasbestosandtalcthatisasbestos-free.Talcthathasasbestosisgenerallyacceptedasbeingabletocausecancerifitisinhaled.Theevidenceaboutasbestos-freetalcislessclear. Researchersuse2maintypesofstudiestotrytofigureoutifasubstanceorexposurecausescancer. Labstudies:Instudiesdoneinthelab,animalsareexposedtoasubstance(ofteninverylargedoses)toseeifitcausestumorsorotherhealthproblems.Researchersmightalsoexposenormalcellsinalabdishtothesubstancetoseeifitcausesthetypesofchangesthatareseenincancercells.It’snotalwayscleariftheresultsfromthesetypesofstudieswillapplytohumans,butlabstudiesareagoodwaytofindoutifasubstancemightpossiblycausecancer. Studiesinpeople:Anothertypeofstudylooksatcancerrisksamongdifferentgroupsofpeople.Suchastudymightcomparethecancerriskinagroupexposedtoasubstancetotheriskinagroupnotexposedtoit,orcompareittowhatwouldbeexpectedinthegeneralpopulation.Butsometimesitcanbehardtoknowwhattheresultsofthesestudiesmean,becausemanyotherfactorsmightaffecttheresults. Inmostcasesneithertypeofstudyprovidesenoughevidenceonitsown,soresearchersusuallylookatbothlab-basedandhumanstudieswhentryingtofigureoutifsomethingcausescancer. Studiesinthelab Studiesthatexposedlabanimals(rats,mice,andhamsters)toasbestos-freetalcinvariouswayshavehadmixedresults,withsomeshowingtumorformationandothersnotfindingany. Studiesinpeople Ovariancancer Ithasbeensuggestedthattalcumpowdermightcausecancerintheovariesifthepowderparticles(appliedtothegenitalareaoronsanitarynapkins,diaphragms,orcondoms)weretotravelthroughthevagina,uterus,andfallopiantubestotheovary. Manystudiesinwomenhavelookedatthepossiblelinkbetweentalcumpowderandcanceroftheovary.Findingshavebeenmixed,withsomestudiesreportingaslightlyincreasedriskandsomereportingnoincrease. Manycase-controlstudieshavefoundasmallincreaseinrisk.Butthesetypesofstudiescanbebiasedbecausetheyoftenrelyonaperson’smemoryoftalcusemanyyearsearlier.  Prospectivecohortstudies,whichwouldnothavethesametypeofpotentialbias,havegenerallynotfoundasignificantincreaseinovariancancerriskoverall.However,somehavesuggestedpossibleincreasedrisksincertaingroupsofwomen(forexample,inwomenwhostillhaveanintactreproductivetract) orincertaintypesofovariancancer. Oneoftheproblemswithstudyingthisissueisthatovariancancerisn’tcommon.Becauseofthis,eventhelargeststudiesdonesofarmightnothavebeenbigenoughtodetectaverysmallincreaseinrisk,ifitexists. Foranyindividualwoman,ifthereisanincreasedrisk,theoverallincreaseislikelytoverybesmall.Still,talciswidelyusedinmanyproducts,soitisimportanttodetermineiftheincreasedriskisreal.Researchinthisareacontinues. Lungcancer Somestudiesoftalcminersandmillershavesuggestedanincreasedriskoflungcancerandotherrespiratorydiseases,whileothershavefoundnoincreaseinlungcancerrisk.Thesestudieshavebeencomplicatedbythefactthattalcinitsnaturalformcancontainvaryingamountsofasbestosandotherminerals,unlikethepurifiedtalcinconsumerproducts.Whenworkingunderground,minerscanalsobeexposedtoothersubstancesthatmightaffectlungcancerrisk,suchasradon. Noincreasedriskoflungcancerhasbeenreportedwiththeuseofcosmetictalcumpowder. Othercancers Talcusehasnotbeenstronglylinkedtoothercancers,althoughnotallpossiblelinkswithothercancershavebeenstudiedextensively. Onestudysuggestedgenitaltalcumpowderusemayslightlyincreasetheriskofendometrial(uterine)cancerinwomenwhoarepastmenopause.Butotherstudieshavenotfoundsuchalink.Furtherstudiesareneededtoexplorethistopic. Somelimitedresearchhasalsolookedatapossiblelinkbetweeninhaledtalcexposureatworkandothercancers,suchasstomachcancer.Butthereisnostrongevidenceofsuchlinksatthistime. Whatexpertagenciessay Severalnationalandinternationalagenciesstudysubstancesintheenvironmenttodetermineiftheycancausecancer.(Asubstancethatcausescancerorhelpscancergrowiscalledacarcinogen.)TheAmericanCancerSocietylookstotheseorganizationstoevaluatetherisksbasedonevidencefromlaboratory,animal,andhumanresearchstudies. TheInternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer(IARC)ispartoftheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO).Itsmajorgoalistoidentifycausesofcancer. IARCclassifiestalcthatcontainsasbestosas“carcinogenictohumans.” Basedonthelackofdatafromhumanstudiesandonlimiteddatainlabanimalstudies,IARCclassifiesinhaledtalcnotcontainingasbestosas“notclassifiableastocarcinogenicityinhumans.” Basedonlimitedevidencefromhumanstudiesofalinktoovariancancer,IARCclassifiestheperineal(genital)useoftalc-basedbodypowderas“possiblycarcinogenictohumans.” TheUSNationalToxicologyProgram(NTP)isformedfrompartsofseveraldifferentgovernmentagencies,includingtheNationalInstitutesofHealth(NIH),theCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC),andtheFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA).TheNTPhasnotfullyreviewedtalc(withorwithoutasbestos)asapossiblecarcinogen. (Formoreinformationontheclassificationsystemsusedbytheseagencies,seeKnownandProbableHumanCarcinogens.) CanIreducemyexposuretotalcumpowder? Itisnotclearifconsumerproductscontainingtalcumpowderincreasecancerrisk.Studiesofpersonaluseoftalcumpowderhavehadmixedresults,althoughthereissomesuggestionofapossibleincreaseinovariancancerrisk.Thereisverylittleevidenceatthistimethatanyotherformsofcancerarelinkedwithconsumeruseoftalcumpowder. Untilmoreinformationisavailable,peopleconcernedaboutusingtalcumpowdermaywanttoavoidorlimittheiruseofconsumerproductsthatcontainit. Writtenby References TheAmericanCancerSocietymedicalandeditorialcontentteam Ourteamismadeupofdoctorsand oncologycertifiednurseswithdeepknowledgeofcancercareaswellasjournalists,editors,andtranslatorswithextensiveexperienceinmedicalwriting. BergeW,MundtK,LuuH,etal.Genitaluseoftalcandriskofovariancancer:Ametaanalysis. EurJCancerPrev. 2018;27(3):248-257. CoggiolaM,BosioD,PiraE,etal.AnupdateofamortalitystudyoftalcminersandmillersinItaly. AmJIndMed.2003;44:63−69. CookLS,KambML,WeissNS.Perinealpowderexposureandtheriskofovariancancer. AmJEpidemiol.1997;145:459−465. CrawfordL,ReevesKW,LuisiN,BalasubramanianR,SturgeonSR.Perinealpowderuseandriskofendometrialcancerinpostmenopausalwomen. CancerCausesControl.2012;23:1673−1680. CramerDW,VitonisAF,TerryKL,etal.Theassociationbetweentalcuseandovariancancer:aretrospectivecasecontrolstudyintwoUSstates. Epidemiology. 2016;27:334-46 GertigDM,HunterDJ,CramerDW,etal.Prospectivestudyoftalcuseandovariancancer. JNatlCancerInst.2000;92:249−252. HartgeP,StewartPA.Occupationandovariancancer:Acase-controlstudyintheWashingtonDCmetropolitanarea,1978-1981. JOccupMed.1994;36:924−927. HondaY,BeallC,DelzellE,etal.Mortalityamongworkersatatalcminingandmillingfacility. AnnOccupHyg.2002;46:575−585. HoughtonSC,ReevesKW,HankinsonSE,etal.Perinealpowderuseandriskofovariancancer. JNatlCancerInst.2014Sep10;106(9). InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer. IARCMonographsontheEvaluationofCarcinogenicRiskstoHumans.Volume93.CarbonBlack,TitaniumDioxide,Talc.2010.Accessedat:http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol93/index.phponSeptember29,2014. KarageorgiS,GatesMA,HankinsonSE,DeVivoI.Perinealuseoftalcumpowderandendometrialcancerrisk. CancerEpidemiolBiomarkersPrev.2010;19:1269−1275.  MillsPK,RiordanDG,CressRD,YoungHA.PerinealtalcexposureandepithelialovariancancerriskintheCentralValleyofCalifornia. IntJCancer.2004;112:458−464. NeillAS,NagleCM,SpurdleAB,WebbPM.Useoftalcumpowderandendometrialcancerrisk. CancerCausesControl.2012;2:513−519. O'BrienKM,TworogerSS,HarrisHR,etal.Associationofpowderuseinthegenitalareawithriskofovariancancer.JAMA.2020;323(1):49-59. RosenblattKA,WeissNS,Cushing-HaugenKL,WicklundKG,RossingMA.Genitalpowderexposureandtheriskofepithelialovariancancer. CancerCausesControl.2011;22:737−742. TerryKL,KarageorgiS,ShvetsovYB,etal.Genitalpowderuseandriskofovariancancer:Apooledanalysisof8,525casesand9,859controls. CancerPrevRes (Phila).2013;6:811–821. ThomasTL,StewartPA.Mortalityfromlungcancerandrespiratorydiseaseamongpotteryworkersexposedtosilicaandtalc. AmJEpidemiol.1987;125:35−43. USDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.PublicHealthService,NationalToxicologyProgram.Talc(cosmetic&occupationalexposure).2014.Accessedathttp://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/roc13/othernoms/t/talc/summary/index.htmlonSeptember29,2014.   References BergeW,MundtK,LuuH,etal.Genitaluseoftalcandriskofovariancancer:Ametaanalysis. EurJCancerPrev. 2018;27(3):248-257. CoggiolaM,BosioD,PiraE,etal.AnupdateofamortalitystudyoftalcminersandmillersinItaly. AmJIndMed.2003;44:63−69. CookLS,KambML,WeissNS.Perinealpowderexposureandtheriskofovariancancer. AmJEpidemiol.1997;145:459−465. CrawfordL,ReevesKW,LuisiN,BalasubramanianR,SturgeonSR.Perinealpowderuseandriskofendometrialcancerinpostmenopausalwomen. CancerCausesControl.2012;23:1673−1680. CramerDW,VitonisAF,TerryKL,etal.Theassociationbetweentalcuseandovariancancer:aretrospectivecasecontrolstudyintwoUSstates. Epidemiology. 2016;27:334-46 GertigDM,HunterDJ,CramerDW,etal.Prospectivestudyoftalcuseandovariancancer. JNatlCancerInst.2000;92:249−252. HartgeP,StewartPA.Occupationandovariancancer:Acase-controlstudyintheWashingtonDCmetropolitanarea,1978-1981. JOccupMed.1994;36:924−927. HondaY,BeallC,DelzellE,etal.Mortalityamongworkersatatalcminingandmillingfacility. AnnOccupHyg.2002;46:575−585. HoughtonSC,ReevesKW,HankinsonSE,etal.Perinealpowderuseandriskofovariancancer. JNatlCancerInst.2014Sep10;106(9). InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer. IARCMonographsontheEvaluationofCarcinogenicRiskstoHumans.Volume93.CarbonBlack,TitaniumDioxide,Talc.2010.Accessedat:http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol93/index.phponSeptember29,2014. KarageorgiS,GatesMA,HankinsonSE,DeVivoI.Perinealuseoftalcumpowderandendometrialcancerrisk. CancerEpidemiolBiomarkersPrev.2010;19:1269−1275.  MillsPK,RiordanDG,CressRD,YoungHA.PerinealtalcexposureandepithelialovariancancerriskintheCentralValleyofCalifornia. IntJCancer.2004;112:458−464. NeillAS,NagleCM,SpurdleAB,WebbPM.Useoftalcumpowderandendometrialcancerrisk. CancerCausesControl.2012;2:513−519. O'BrienKM,TworogerSS,HarrisHR,etal.Associationofpowderuseinthegenitalareawithriskofovariancancer.JAMA.2020;323(1):49-59. RosenblattKA,WeissNS,Cushing-HaugenKL,WicklundKG,RossingMA.Genitalpowderexposureandtheriskofepithelialovariancancer. CancerCausesControl.2011;22:737−742. TerryKL,KarageorgiS,ShvetsovYB,etal.Genitalpowderuseandriskofovariancancer:Apooledanalysisof8,525casesand9,859controls. CancerPrevRes (Phila).2013;6:811–821. ThomasTL,StewartPA.Mortalityfromlungcancerandrespiratorydiseaseamongpotteryworkersexposedtosilicaandtalc. AmJEpidemiol.1987;125:35−43. USDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices.PublicHealthService,NationalToxicologyProgram.Talc(cosmetic&occupationalexposure).2014.Accessedathttp://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/roc13/othernoms/t/talc/summary/index.htmlonSeptember29,2014.   LastRevised:February4,2020       AmericanCancerSocietymedicalinformationiscopyrighted material.Forreprintrequests,pleaseseeourContentUsagePolicy. BackToTop Close * Close Imageof Previous Next Close Close SelectAHopeLodge