Endocrine disrupters and human health: could oestrogenic chemicals in body care cosmetics adversely affect breast cancer incidence in women?
- PMID: 15211609
- DOI: 10.1002/jat.978
Endocrine disrupters and human health: could oestrogenic chemicals in body care cosmetics adversely affect breast cancer incidence in women?
Abstract
In the decade that has elapsed since the suggestion that exposure of the foetal/developing male to environmental oestrogens could be the cause of subsequent reproductive and developmental effects in men, there has been little definitive research to provide conclusions to the hypothesis. Issues of exposure and low potency of environmental oestrogens may have reduced concerns. However, the hypothesis that chemicals applied in body care cosmetics (including moisturizers, creams, sprays or lotions applied to axilla or chest or breast areas) may be affecting breast cancer incidence in women presents a different case scenario, not least in the consideration of the exposure issues. The specific cosmetic type is not relevant but the chemical ingredients in the formulations and the application to the skin is important. The most common group of body care cosmetic formulation excipients, namely p-hydroxybenzoic acid esters or parabens, have been shown recently to be oestrogenic in vitro and in vivo and now have been detected in human breast tumour tissue, indicating absorption (route and causal associations have yet to be confirmed). The hypothesis for a link between oestrogenic ingredients in underarm and body care cosmetics and breast cancer is forwarded and reviewed here in terms of: data on exposure to body care cosmetics and parabens, including dermal absorption; paraben oestrogenicity; the role of oestrogen in breast cancer; detection of parabens in breast tumours; recent epidemiology studies of underarm cosmetics use and breast cancer; the toxicology database; the current regulatory status of parabens and regulatory toxicology data uncertainties. Notwithstanding the major public health issue of the causes of the rising incidence of breast cancer in women, this call for further research may provide the first evidence that environmental factors may be adversely affecting human health by endocrine disruption, because exposure to oestrogenic chemicals through application of body care products (unlike diffuse environmental chemical exposures) should be amenable to evaluation, quantification and control. The exposure issues are clear and the exposed population is large, and these factors should provide the necessary impetus to investigate this potential issue of public health.
Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Similar articles
-
Parabens, oestrogenicity, underarm cosmetics and breast cancer: a perspective on a hypothesis.J Appl Toxicol. 2003 Sep-Oct;23(5):285-8. doi: 10.1002/jat.946. J Appl Toxicol. 2003. PMID: 12975767
-
Environmental oestrogens, cosmetics and breast cancer.Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Mar;20(1):121-43. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2005.09.007. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006. PMID: 16522524 Review.
-
Final amended report on the safety assessment of Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, and Benzylparaben as used in cosmetic products.Int J Toxicol. 2008;27 Suppl 4:1-82. doi: 10.1080/10915810802548359. Int J Toxicol. 2008. PMID: 19101832
-
Significance of the detection of esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens) in human breast tumours.J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):1-4. doi: 10.1002/jat.957. J Appl Toxicol. 2004. PMID: 14745840 Review.
-
Paraben esters: review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure, and discussion of potential human health risks.J Appl Toxicol. 2008 Jul;28(5):561-78. doi: 10.1002/jat.1358. J Appl Toxicol. 2008. PMID: 18484575 Review.
Cited by
-
A study on assessing the toxic effects of ethyl paraben on rohu (Labeo rohita) using different biomarkers; hemato-biochemical assays, histology, oxidant and antioxidant activity and genotoxicity.PLoS One. 2024 May 6;19(5):e0302691. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302691. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38709735 Free PMC article.
-
Ultrasound- and Vortex-Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction of Parabens from Personal Care Products and Urine, Followed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.Turk J Pharm Sci. 2023 Nov 7;20(5):328-334. doi: 10.4274/tjps.galenos.2022.42387. Turk J Pharm Sci. 2023. PMID: 37933823 Free PMC article.
-
Carboxymethylcellulose/Hydrotalcite Bionanocomposites as Paraben Sorbents.Langmuir. 2023 Apr 18;39(15):5294-5305. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c03265. Epub 2023 Apr 6. Langmuir. 2023. PMID: 37022353 Free PMC article.
-
Minireview: Parabens Exposure and Breast Cancer.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 8;19(3):1873. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031873. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022. PMID: 35162895 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Perinatal exposure to bisphenol A at the intersection of stress, anxiety, and depression.Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2020 May-Jun;79:106884. doi: 10.1016/j.ntt.2020.106884. Epub 2020 Apr 11. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2020. PMID: 32289443 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous