Does Talcum Powder Cause Cancer?

The recent verdict against Johnson & Johnson, requiring the company pay $72 million in damages to the family of a woman whose death the plaintiffs claimed is linked to her use of the company’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, brings to light startling questions about the safety of one of America’s most ubiquitous personal care products, talcum powder. With our own medicine cabinets well stocked, we’re left wondering: How dangerous is the talcum powder in our products? And what do we need to do to be safe?
The world’s softest mineral, talc is used in a host of cosmetics, like eyeshadow and blush, as well as body dusting powders. In its natural form, some talc contains asbestos, a known carcinogen, but according to the American Cancer Society, commercial talcum powders used in homes have been manufactured and tested to be asbestos-free since the 1970s. Still, studies conducted to assess their safety in consumer products have yielded contradictory findings. Questions remain as to whether airborne talc in its unpurified form could cause lung cancer in miners who extract the mineral from quarries, but no increased risk of lung cancer has been reported in cosmetic use—meaning there’s no reason to believe your talc-based setting powder or dry shampoo is unsafe. Additional research has focused on the potential connection between talc’s use as a feminine hygiene powder and ovarian cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, one prevailing theory is that small mineral particles could travel up through the fallopian tubes and ovaries, inflaming the tissue, which can encourage cancer growth. But no major study has examined how talc might cause cancer, only if there is an elevated risk associated with its use.
“The evidence is really sort of poor,” explains Sarah Temkin, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist specializing in ovarian cancer at Johns Hopkins University. Despite the fact that talc is still on the National Cancer Institute’s list as a risk factor for ovarian cancer, Temkin is not convinced talc is dangerous, and here’s why. A study published in 1982 by ob-gyn Daniel W. Cramer, M.D., to assess talc’s safety relied on patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer recalling their own use of the product—a less reliable way to collect data than studies based on controlled scientific observation. That study found that women who used talc as a feminine hygiene product were three times more likely to develop ovarian cancer as women who did not.
But in later research, no link between talc use and endometrial or ovarian cancer was found. That indicates to Temkin that the original linkage may have been the result of inaccurate data. “They are just old studies that have left doubt in people’s minds as to whether or not it’s a risk factor,” she says. With regard to the Johnson & Johnson suit, the trial was not about proving the safety or danger of talc, but rather whether the company had withheld information from consumers about the potential risks.
Later this year, the debate over talc’s safety will continue as several similar lawsuits are expected to come to trial. But what should consumers do now? While certainty about talc’s real risks remains evasive, Temkin reminds her patients that “ovarian cancer is still a very rare event,” and that it’s best to speak to your physician about your individual risk factors. Ob-gyn Dr. Carmit Archibald, M.D., co-owner of Upper East Side Gynecology and an assistant clinical professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says that for a safer alternative to talc, “cornstarch would be great.” She adds, however, that powders should really only be used in preventing or treating specific conditions if directed by a doctor; they are not otherwise recommended as part of a daily hygiene routine.
The takeaway? If you’re concerned, try starch-based, talc-free products, available at stores like Whole Foods, for a noncontroversial alternative—or simply skip the powder altogether.