Does Deodorant, Antiperspirant cause cancer / breast cancer ?

Maybe you remember the scary rumors that zipped around the Internet a few years ago claiming antiperspirants and deodorants could cause breast cancer. The claims had several things going for them — the fact that antiperspirants and deodorants are applied in the underarm area, close to the lymph nodes, where cancer cells like to congregate, and in the general vicinity of where most breast tumors develop.

Then there were the concerns about parabens and aluminum, both ingredients in these products that are easily absorbed by the skin and which some studies had detected in breast tumors.

Doctors scrambled to help patients understand that the disparate facts did not necessarily coalesce into a coherent whole of cause and effect. Just because the parabens were found in breast tumors, for example, didn’t mean that they triggered the cancer.

Rumors of a link between deodorant/antiperspirant and breast cancer have been around for nearly 20 years. The theory is that by blocking sweat glands in the armpits (particularly in women who shave their underarms), antiperspirants allow toxic compounds to accumulate in the underarm lymph nodes near the breasts, prompting cancer to develop.

However, research has found no conclusive evidence of a connection between deodorant/antiperspirant use and breast cancer.

A major study in 2002 found no data to support this claim. The study involved more than 1,600 women, about half of whom had breast cancer and an equal number who did not. The researchers found no link between breast cancer risk and the use of antiperspirants or deodorants or underarm shaving.

In a 2006 study, researchers examined antiperspirant use and other factors in 54 women with breast cancer and 50 women without it. They, too, found no link between antiperspirant use and breast cancer risk.

In summary, there is no substance to the theory that antiperspirants cause harmful substances to build up in the underarm lymph nodes. Lymph nodes do help clear out bacteria and wastes, but they don’t release these substances through sweating – in fact, they aren’t connected to the sweat glands. Cancer-causing substances are removed from the blood by the kidneys and liver and leave the body through urine and feces.

Connection between Deodorant and breast cancer

A study in 2006, specialists analyzed antiperspirant utilization and different variables in 54 ladies with breast cancer and 50 ladies without breast cancer. They, as well, discovered no connection between antiperspirant utilization and risk of breast cancer.

Summing up, there is no element to the hypothesis that antiperspirants cause destructive substances to develop in the underarm lymph hubs or nodes. Lymph nodes do bail get out microbes and wastes, however they don’t discharge these substances through sweating. Indeed, they aren’t joined with the sweat glands. Disease creating substances are expelled from the blood by kidneys and liver and they leave the body through urine as well as fecal matter.

Perception

In any case, as a consequence of the stories coursing about the potential damages of parabens, most makers of antiperspirants or deodorants have stopped using these additives. Not as a result of proven harm, but since suspicion (“market perception”) of conceivable damage, this eventually influences sales.

Conclusion

“Parabens and aluminium salts are found in many cosmetics and underarm deodorants. The researchers found no evidence that parabens or aluminium salts cause breast cancer”

“Some cancer units advise women not to use deodorants containing aluminium salts before going for breast screening. This is not because aluminium salts are dangerous, but because they can obscure the results of screening tests. This can make breast cancers harder to detect” – Cancer Research UK