The French newspaper "Le Monde" said that a new study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences last September provided evidence indicating the potential harm of aluminum salts found in many deodorants, and asked: Do these deodorants lead to breast cancer?
The magazine pointed out that Swiss researchers said that they exposed hamster cells, including breast cells, to aluminum salts found in deodorants, and their results showed that the metal not only enters the cells, but also quickly causes genetic instability in these cells.
The research that has been prepared shows that aluminum alters the DNA of cells in ways equivalent to those of recognized carcinogens, thus confirming its ability to cause cancer.
incoming relationship
Biologist Stefano Mandriotta and oncologist André Pascal Sabino - who led this team - showed in 2012 that human breast cells implanted and exposed to aluminum in the laboratory undergo genetic modification, and their studies in 2016 showed that mammary gland cells in mice grown in concentrations of aluminum. At a level similar to that of the human breast, when injected into mice, it caused highly aggressive metastatic tumors.
The newspaper pointed out that the latest study helps explain the mechanism through which aluminum enters cells, and confirms that genetic modification can cause genetic instability that is found in almost all human tumors.
The researchers believe that the link between the use of deodorants and the increase in the incidence of breast cancer observed during the past 50 years should be taken seriously, especially that "80% of tumors occur in the outer part of the gland, which is the part near the armpit", according to André Pascal. Sabino.
However, France Info says that the researchers themselves acknowledge that the results are not certain to establish a true causal relationship between the use of deodorants containing aluminum salts and the emergence of breast cancer in humans, and therefore it will be necessary to conduct large studies on groups Of the users of these products, it means a long period of doubt.
There is no evidence of a link between exposure to aluminum through the skin and the onset of cancer (Getty Images)
Prevention principle
Meanwhile, despite the findings of the Swiss researchers under discussion, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, an advisory committee of the European Union, estimated - in a report published in March 2020 - that deodorants do not pose a health risk if the aluminum concentration in them is less than 10.6 % for sprays and 6.25% for others, figures higher than concentrations observed in products on the market.
And in 2011 - as the newspaper says - the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) concluded that there is no evidence of a link between exposure to aluminum through the skin and the emergence of cancer, and the American Dental Association recommended reducing the concentration of aluminum in cosmetics to 0.6%, and not Use products that contain aluminum directly after shaving or on damaged skin, because absorption is greater and stronger in these cases.
But the latest studies by the Grangate team "paint a pathway for aluminum similar to that of carcinogens, now as proven as tobacco or asbestos", and these scientists are calling on the authorities to restrict aluminum use in the cosmetics industry as a precaution.