Study Shows Hair Dyes and Hair Straightening Chemical Treatments Increases Breast Cancer Risk
Source: Thailand Medical News Dec 05, 2019 5 years, 2 weeks, 6 days, 2 hours, 16 minutes ago
A recent study conducted by scientists from the US National Institute of Health found that females who use permanent
hair dye and chemical
hair straighteners have a higher risk of developing
breast cancer than women who don't use these products.
The study published online Dec. 4 in the
International Journal of Cancer and shows that
breast cancer risk increased with more frequent use of these
chemical hair products.
Utilizing data from 46,709 women in the Sister Study, researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, found that women who regularly used permanent
hair dye in the year prior to enrolling in the study were 9% more likely than women who didn't use
hair dye to develop
breast cancer. Among African American women, using permanent
hair dyes every five to eight weeks or more was associated with a 60% increased risk of
breast cancer as compared with an 8% increased risk for white women. The research team found little to no increase in
breast cancer risk for semi-permanent or temporary
hair dye use.
Dr Alexandra White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group and corresponding author told
Thailand Medical News via a phone interview, "Researchers have been studying the possible link between
hair dye and
cancer for a long time, but results have been inconsistent. In our study, we see a higher
breast cancer risk associated with
hair dye use, and the effect is stronger in African American women, particularly those who are frequent users."
An intriguing finding was the association between the use of
chemical hair straighteners and
breast cancer. Dr. White and colleagues found that women who used
hair straighteners at least every five to eight weeks were about 30% more likely to develop
breast cancer. While the association between
straightener use and
breast cancer was similar in African American, White women and Asian women,
hair straightener use was much more common among African American women.
Dr Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch and coauthor, cautioned that although there is some prior evidence to support the association with
chemical straighteners, these results need to be replicated in other studies.
Dr Sandler, when asked if women should stop
dyeing or
straightening their hair,said, "We are exposed to many things that could potentially contribute to
br
east cancer, and it is unlikely that any single factor explains a woman's risk. While it is too early to make a firm recommendation, avoiding these chemicals might be one more thing women can do to reduce their risk of
breast cancer."
Reference : Carolyn E. Eberle et al, Hair dye and chemical straightener use and breast cancer risk in a large US population of black and white women, International Journal of Cancer (2019). DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32738
