Parabens found in personal care products cause harmful effects in breast cancer cells of black women, according to a new study.
The study by Los Angeles cancer research and treatment organisation City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center found that parabens increased the growth of a black breast cancer cell line.
This effect was not seen in the white breast cancer cell line at the doses tested.
The study was presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta.
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center said parabens are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are commonly used as preservatives in hair and other personal care products.
Parabens cause breast cancer cells to grow, invade, spread, and express genes linked to cancer and to hormone action, it added.
“Black women are more likely to buy and use hair products with these types of chemicals, but we do not have a lot of data about how parabens may increase breast cancer risk in black women,” said Lindsey S. Treviño, one of the co-Principal Investigators.
“This is because black women have not been picked to take part in most research studies looking at this link. Also, studies to test this link have only used breast cancer cell lines from white women.”
The study is a part of a community-led project called the Bench to Community Initiative (BCI), which brings together scientists and community members (including breast cancer survivors) to create ways to reduce exposures to harmful chemicals in hair and personal care products in black women with breast cancer.
“While this project focuses on black women, the knowledge we gain about the link between exposure to harmful chemicals in personal care products and breast cancer risk can be used to help all women at high risk of getting breast cancer,” said Treviño.
