A recent British study has identified intact parabens in breast cancer tumours, raising concerns that regular use of cosmetics with paraben content could be influencing breast cancer development. Parabens are known to have a weak oestrogenic action. The hormone oestrogen is known to increase the risk of breast cancer.
Parabens are used as preservatives in many thousands of cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products including underarm deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, hair styling gels, nail creams, foundations, facial masks and skin creams. Parabens can be an ingredient in baby lotions, shampoos, and other personal care products for children. They are known to be readily absorbed through the skin. They are produced from a petroleum derivative, toluene which is obtained originally from coal tar. Parabens are also produced from gum benzoin but rarely used in cosmetics as this is far more costly. They are also present in some plants.
Philip Harvey, an editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, which published the new research says “… it is not possible to say whether parabens actually caused these tumours, but they may certainly be associated with the overall rise in breast cancer cases. Given that breast cancer is the largest killer of women and a very high percentage of young women use underarm deodorants, I think we should be carrying out properly funded, further investigations into parabens and where they are found in the body, “
Cosmetic companies claim their studies show parabens to be non-toxic and safe. The New Zealand company Living Nature conducted independent laboratory testing of parabens and found they are not toxic (which means they don’t cause the cell membrane to break) but that they do cause intense cell oxidative stress and severe DNA damage. This means that parabens may be causing long-term damage that women are not alerted to because the products they use don’t irritate the skin or create a toxic effect. Because the damaged DNA can still replicate, this combined with oxidative stress which damages the cell could cause abnormalities in cell reproduction. This creates the potential for cancerous cells to form.
The study used 20 breast tumour samples and found high concentrations of para-hydroxybenzoic acids (parabens) in 18 of the samples. The researchers are calling for more investigation into whether paraben accumulation from currently permitted levels in cosmetics, foods and pharmaceuticals is acceptable. Meantime as consumers it is advisable to carefully check product labels and use cosmetics that are paraben free .
Reference: Darbre, P. D. et al A. Concentrations of Parabens in Human Breast Tumours. Journal of Applied Toxicology. Jan 2004;24.
Thank you for highlighting this. As a breast cancer survivor I have grave concerns over the toxic chemical cocktail we as women expose ourselves too. A woman’s lifetime exposure to oestrogen is a known risk factor for getting the disease and many of these harmful chemicals such as parabens minic oestrogen. The problem is that women are not even aware of the link much of the time so we all need to become more informed for the sake of our health. http://beyondbreastcancer.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/because-were-worth-it/