Science journalist Hans van Maanen debunks a persistent misconception in the medical field every month.
Every three years, the rumor resurfaces that deodorant can cause breast cancer. The oldest mention, as far as can be ascertained, dates back to the 1990s, and the story is just as persistent as any other tales spread over the Internet.
The message is usually in the form of an e-mail warning: “Throw out your deodorant IMMEDIATELY”, it is called, and sometimes there is a quasi-scientific explanation about aluminum chlorohydrates or parabens.
However, all cancer experts, both in the Netherlands and abroad, are in full agreement. The American Cancer Institute says with some elaboration: “There is no conclusive research showing a link between the use of deodorant and the development of breast cancer”, but KWF Kankerbestrijding simply states: “No relationship between deodorant use and breast cancer.”
It’s always difficult to prove scientifically that something isn’t the case – just prove that no porcelain teapot revolves around the sun – but for now there is no reason to leave the deodorant unused on the shelf. Virtually all the research that has been done on the matter has come to naught, and the few studies that do find any connection are far too short-sighted to be credible.
The last to claim to have established a connection was British researcher Philippa Darbre of the University of Reading. In February 2004 she blamed parabens for breast cancer, because she found them in the breast tissue of twenty breast cancer patients. Parabens are used as preservatives not only in deodorant, but also in shampoo, body lotion, hand cream, food and pharmaceuticals. That in itself makes it strange to point to deodorant as the main culprit, but Darbre also neglected to check whether those parabens could not be found in breast tissue of healthy women. That would be the least to prove that parabens are the cause of the tumor.
In an attempt to dispel the internet rumour, the American Dana Mirick set up a thorough survey in 2002 among 1,606 women whom she asked about their shaving and deodorant habits. Half of them had breast cancer, the other half did not. That study found no association between breast cancer and deodorant use.
But the story stubbornly holds: the Internet is perhaps too fast a medium for the truth.
