Breast Cancer and Deodorants/Antiperspirants: a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND Over the last decade, the possible association between underarm deodorants/ antiperspirants use and breast cancer risk has raised important interest in the scientific community. The objective of our systematic review is to estimate the pooled risk of deodorants/antiperspirants use for breast cancer. METHODS All observational studies that evaluated the association between breast cancer risk and deodorants/antiperspirants use were reviewed. We have only identified two case-control studies, carried out between 2002 and 2006. RESULTS The first study was conducted in USA and investigated the possible relationship between use of products applied for underarm perspiration and the risk for breast cancer in women aged 20-74 years. This population-based case-control study gathered information by in-person interview. The second study was conducted in Iraq and investigated the possible relationship between use of antiperspirants and the risk for breast cancer in women attending a teaching hospital. This study also gathered information by in-person interview. There was no risk of antiperspirants use in the pooled risk (odds ratio 0.40, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.46). CONCLUSION Our comprehensive search has identified an insufficient number of studies to conduct a quantitative review and obtain reliable results. Further prospective studies are strongly needed.