A new study that investigated hair and skincare products marketed to Black women has uncovered a long-suspected but unproven connection between breast cancer and a class of preservatives called parabens.
While many products, from baby lotion to athlete’s foot cream to dog shampoo, contain parabens, the new study published in the journal Environmental Research has linked these preservatives to an increased risk of breast cancer in Black women, as well as the spread of cancer cells in Black women when compared to white women.
Parabens are part of a group of chemical preservatives that are meant to keep mold and bacteria from growing in beauty products in order to prolong their shelf lives. However, according to research, these same parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen and potentially fuel dangerous cell growth; at the same time, parabens can decrease cell death—which means those rapidly growing cells die more slowly than they ordinarily would.
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According to Business Insider, the most recent study on the effect these chemicals have on Black women was presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Atlanta on Sunday. It was part of a study led by a community research project called the Bench to Community Initiative. The project brought together scientists, breast cancer survivors, hairstylists, and community activists to analyze the link between harmful chemicals in Black haircare products and breast cancer, Business Insider reported.
The data analyzed how parabens impacted breast cancer cells in both Black women and white women. It found that parabens not only increased the expression of genes linked to breast cancer, but increased the growth of Black breast cancer cell lines. They did not affect white breast cancer cell lines in the same way at the doses tested.
Data from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation shows that Black women have a 41% higher death rate from breast cancer than those of other races. Additionally, Black women under 50 have double the mortality rate from breast cancer when compared to white women.
Part of this disparity is that clinical studies often under-represent or entirely exclude people of color—especially people of color who can become pregnant. As a result, what appear to be long-established data points are often upended when studies diversify the standard trial demographics. This study appears to be one such case.
"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," Lindsey S. Treviño, the study's lead researcher, said in a press release. "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."
According to Afro Lovely, Black consumers spent $54.4 million on hair and beauty products in 2018, making up 85.7% of total spending in the category. The outlet noted that in 2020, the global Black hair care market was estimated at $2.5 billion.
"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.
This isn't the first study that has linked haircare products marketed to Black women and breast cancer. Last year Boston University released a Black Women's Health Study, which followed 59,000 women. Conducted over a period of 25 years, the study focused on women who enrolled in 1995. According to PBS, the study found that Black women who used hair products containing lye at least seven times a year for 15 or more years had an approximately 30% higher risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer compared with more infrequent users.