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8 November 2006
Grooming Products Behind African-American Breast Cancer Figures? 
Although there's been an overall decline in invasive breast cancer in recent years, African-American women, particularly younger ones, have not seen a significant decline at all, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. While white women have the highest overall breast cancer incidence rates, African-American women under age 40 have a significantly higher incidence of breast cancer as well as a higher rate of death from breast cancer than do white women. Additionally, African-Americans with breast cancer die at a younger age than women in other groups. What's behind this puzzling pattern will be the focus of several new initiatives aimed at shedding light on the disparity between white and black women. "The good news is that rates of invasive breast cancer are on the decline overall. However, African-American women, particularly younger women, have not shared in this trend. We need to find out very quickly why this is and take immediate steps to rectify the problem," said lead investigator Devra L. Davis. Davis and her co-researchers speculate that environmental factors could be behind the disparity. In particular, Davis points the finger at certain hormone-mimicking compounds, such as bisphenol A (a widely used plasticizer), and preservatives (called parabens), that are frequently used in personal care products, including deodorants, antiperspirants and many other cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products. Such chemicals have been shown to accelerate breast cancer cell growth in cell cultures.
Davis, along with oncologist Maryann Donovan, is writing a paper that suggests that the use of estrogen and other hormone-containing personal care products by younger African-American women may account for their increased risk of breast cancer. Davis' paper calls for public disclosure by manufacturers of personal care products of proprietary hormonally active ingredients in their products so that research can move forward on the possible connection. Related Articles
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Source: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
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