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CHEMICALS IN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS CAUSE HARMFUL EFFECTS IN BREAST CANCER CELLS
FROM BLACK WOMEN

By
Letisia Marquez
June 14, 2022
 * 
 * 
 * 

A new City of Hope study shows that endocrine-disrupting chemicals called
parabens have an outsized effect on breast cancer risk in Black women compared
to white women

Chemicals called parabens, which are found in widely used hair and personal care
products, cause harmful effects in breast cancer cells from Black women,
according to a new study presented June 12 at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s
annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

One in eight women in the United States will get breast cancer during their
lifetime. Black women are at a higher risk of getting breast cancer under the
age of 40 than any other racial or ethnic group. 

Lindsey S. Treviño, Ph.D.

“One reason for the higher risk of breast cancer may be exposure to harmful
chemicals called endocrine-disrupting chemicals in hair and personal care
products,” said lead researcher Lindsey S. Treviño, Ph.D., an assistant
professor in the Division of Health Equities and Department of Population
Sciences at City of Hope. “These chemicals mimic the effects of hormones on the
body.”

Used as Preservatives 

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. Importantly, a survey looking for products that do not contain
parabens and other harmful chemicals revealed that that there are fewer
paraben-free options marketed to Black women.

“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,” Treviño said. “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 new study tested the effects of parabens on breast cancer cells from Black
women. The researchers 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. Parabens increased expression of genes linked to
hormone action in breast cancer cell lines from both Black and white women.
Parabens also promoted the spread of breast cancer cells, with a bigger effect
seen in the Black breast cancer cell line.

“These results provide new data that parabens also cause harmful effects in
breast cancer cells from Black women,” Treviño said. 

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,” Treviño said.

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