Women who regularly use deodorants containing aluminum salts are at risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study by Swiss scientists.
Initial tests on single breast cells taken from healthy human tissue were subsequently repeated in studies in mice, and the results were the same: long-term exposure to aluminum salts led to the development of tumors and metastases.
“I think all aluminum deodorants should be avoided,” said study co-author André-Pascal Sappino, a cancer specialist at the University of Geneva.
“It's hard to verify that brands that claim to be 'aluminum-free' don't actually contain it,” added the oncology professor.
According to Sappino, the results of their previous research have been received with skepticism, but more and more new evidence is emerging, which means that this time their work will be much easier to publicize.
To this day, aluminum salts have been “under suspicion but not considered a clear cause,” the professor said, citing an analogy to asbestos, which is banned in Switzerland and the European Union.
“Asbestos is a cheap material and had great potential for industrial use, and it took 50 years to ban it. We hope it won't take long to ban aluminum salts,”Sappino said.
Like asbestos, aluminum is not mutagenic, but subcutaneous injections of aluminum salts into mice have produced "highly aggressive tumors."
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Although the researchers have not fully established a formal link with breast cancer, the scientist said he advises all women to stop using deodorants containing aluminum salts.
Men also need to think twice: while breast cancer is rare in men, the number is on the rise, says the professor.
He believes that resistance from cosmetics manufacturers can be expected.
“Now the war is flaring up. They will act as tobacco manufacturers and claim that there is a lack of evidence of harm to humans.”
The research work, co-authored with four scientists from the Clinique des Grangettes, is published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Sergey Lukavsky