Antiperspirants and breast cancer

DEFINITION: Breast cancer is a cancer of the breast tissue. It is a disease more common among women than men. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, in 2024, an estimated 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in the United States. Forty-two thousand two hundred fifty fatalities among American women were projected. Early detection and treatment of cancer were acknowledged as key to enhancing survival rates. When breast cancer was detected early and in localized areas, the five-year relative survival rate could be as high as 99%.

In the past decades, numerous reports have proliferated on the Internet and social media, claiming that underarm deodorant, specifically antiperspirant use, increases the risk of breast cancer. Reports have stated that women were particularly at risk because they were more inclined to shave their underarms than were men. This claim increased the likelihood of cuts to the skin from a razor. According to these reports, cancer-causing substances would enter the body through the wound. Additionally, the body would be more apt to absorb the substances as antiperspirant plugged the sweat ducts, and the substances could not be perspired away from the body.

Despite spending years studying and conducting tests, scientists and researchers have yet to be able to prove a conclusive or potential link between the use of antiperspirants and increased incidence of breast cancer. Regardless of scientific proof, however, the Internet, especially social media, continues to perpetuate the myth.

Looking at the link: Antiperspirants and deodorants are common over-the-counter cosmetics used to reduce underarm perspiration and control body odor. Most commercially available antiperspirants contain aluminum or aluminum-zirconium salts or complexes. These aluminum complexes react with salt in an individual's perspiration, forming a plug that blocks the sweat duct. As a result, the duct cannot release sweat. Blockage of sweat ducts minimizes the perspiration produced in the underarms. The plugs are removed over time when the skin discards them or when washed off with water.

Many studies that looked at the correlation between antiperspirant use and the development of breast cancer have not been conclusive. They have thus been criticized as irrelevant, unsubstantiated, or inaccurate. Furthermore, two respected studies have shown no connection between antiperspirant use and breast cancer. One of those studies was published in 2002 by D. K. Mirick of the Cancer Research Center in Washington State. The research involved 813 women with cancer and 793 women without cancer. The study showed that more women without cancer reported using antiperspirants on a regular basis and were more likely to use antiperspirants within an hour of shaving their underarms than women with cancer. A second respected study, conducted in 2006 at Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad, Iraq, also produced results that antiperspirant use does not increase the risk of breast cancer. Fewer women participated in this effort than in the Mirick study. 104 women females where tested, half of whom had cancer. The results were similar: a high percentage of women without cancer, 82 percent of those sampled, reported regular use of antiperspirants. This contrasted with the 52 percent of women with cancer who used antiperspirants regularly.

On the aspect of shaving, a 2003 British study published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention examined the frequency of underarm shaving and antiperspirant or deodorant use. The test involved 437 breast cancer survivors. The study found that those who shaved frequently and used these products were diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age. In addition, the data found that those who started shaving their underarms and began using antiperspirant or deodorant earlier than sixteen years of age were diagnosed at an earlier age with breast cancer than those who started these habits later in life. The study did not, however, include a control group of women without breast cancer. The American Cancer Society stated in 2014 that this study, though suggestive of a link between underarm hygiene habits and breast cancer, had been marginalized.

Aluminum: Aluminum salts or complexes are one of the major constituents of many commercial antiperspirants and deodorants. Estrogen is a naturally occurring female hormone that promotes the growth and division of breast cells. Aluminum salts are classified as metalloestrogens, or metals with estrogen hormone-like properties. Research studies have shown that aluminum salts cause an increase in estrogen-related gene expression in human breast cancer cells grown in the laboratory. However, this estrogen-related change has not yet been correlated with the development of human breast cancer cells in the body. Aluminum was detected at varying concentrations in human breast cancer tissue from one study of women with breast cancer. The source of the aluminum was not conclusively established, and hence, a definite connection between aluminum from antiperspirants and breast cancer cannot be made from this study.

Parabens: Esters of the chemical p-hydroxybenzoic acid are called parabens and used as preservatives in antiperspirants and many other skin-care cosmetics. Research has demonstrated that parabens possess estrogenic properties in laboratory-grown cells and cells within the body (in-vitro and in-vivo). Some scientists have hypothesized that parabens can be absorbed by breast tissue from topical application of cosmetics such as antiperspirants. An accumulation could theoretically cause the development and spread of breast cancer. A 2004 study that detected parabens in breast tumor tissue partially established the hypothesis that parabens can accumulate in breast tissue. However, the study did not prove that the accumulated parabens caused breast cancer. Moreover, the study did not prove that the parabens originated from the antiperspirants. It also did not involve an analysis of healthy breast tissue for parabens and hence did not prove that parabens were found only in cancerous tissue and not in healthy tissue. More specific, well-designed research is needed to address the absorption of parabens by the skin and objectively evaluate whether they increase the risk of breast cancer.

In 2024, the American Cancer Society reiterated its previous position there is no conclusive, scientific evidence to link underarm antiperspirant or deodorant use to increased risk of breast cancer. Although no published, peer-reviewed scientific reports exist to support these claims, public concern persists. This urban legend continues to circulate.

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