Growing up, my mom was always very particular about the kind of deodorant she used and the kind she bought for my sister and me. She always told me she had heard that certain chemicals in deodorants may contribute to breast cancer. Because of her influence, I always find myself buying deodorant that is aluminum free. This topic has always interested me, so I decided to do some research to see if this theory is correct.
The National Cancer Institute’s research suggests that when aluminum-based compounds that are in deodorant are applied to skin near the breast, the skin absorbs this and it could lead to estrogen-like, or hormonal, effects. Many scientists have suggested that the aluminum-based compounds could lead to the development of breast cancer because estrogen has the ability to contribute to the growth of breast cancer cells. This is due to the fact that there is a clear link between breast cancer and hormones. Researchers believe that the more exposed a woman is to estrogen, the more susceptible she is to breast cancer.
Dr. Philippa Darbre, an oncologist at the University of Reading in the U.K., did much research on this topic and published over 30 research papers on the chemicals found in deodorant. Much of her research has shown parabens, chemicals that act as a preservative in some deodorants, in women’s breast tissue. However, it is unknown how these parabens got there and what happens when they are in the breast tissue. “In Darbre’s experiments, combining different paragons with human cells creates activity that may contribute to the development of cancer.” When attempting to find these links in humans, not petri dishes, there have been very inconsistent results. This could be due to the fact that results come out differently when it is used on humans.
Although there are many different claims from scientists relating certain ingredients in deodorants to breast cancer, there really is no conclusive evidence that links the two. The National Cancer Institute, as well as the U.S Food and Drug Administration, also do not have sufficient research data that ingredients in deodorants cause cancer. Until more research is done on this topic, I would think it’s safe to buy deodorant containing aluminum.
I found this really interesting! I had never heard about this before, and I might be a little paranoid now about the deodorant that I use. This makes me wonder what specific brands of deodorant have aluminum in them. It seems as if there is little research on this topic, so I hope scientist do more studies on this soon!
Very interesting idea- I actually remember my mom saying the same thing and not allowing me to use dove deodorant as she thought the correlation was extremely strong between those who used that type of deodorant and those who developed cancer. I actually always wondered why and hearing it is from the aluminum is absolutely astonishing! I am shocked, I would have never guessed of all ingredients aluminum would be the reason for this especially because it is in SO many everyday products I use. I really like how you closed your concluding paragraph and discussed the possibilities, yet uncertainties that lie within this hypothesis.