Genital Talc Increases Ovarian Cancer Risk, Study Finds

The use of talcum powder in the genital area of women can boost the chances of developing ovarian cancer. This is according to a group of researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital who reported that ovarian cancer risk was 33 percent higher among women who used genital talc regularly.

Fox News reported that the study, which was published online in the journal Epidemiology, has surveyed 2,041 women with ovarian cancer and 2,100 women free of the disease. The respondents were asked about their use of talcum powder. The researchers found that the risk of ovarian cancer was one-third higher among those women who said they regularly powdered their crotches, sanitary napkins, tampons and underwear with talc.

"This is an easily modified risk factor. Talc is a good drying agent, but women should know that if it's used repeatedly, it can get into the vagina and into their upper genital tract," Dr. Daniel W. Cramer, lead author of the study, told Reuters Health in a phone interview.

Cramer had already reported the association between genital talc to ovarian cancer in 1982. However, the recent study is the first to limit the linkage to premenopausal and postmenopausal women who used hormone therapy.

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen, head of the clinical epidemiology unit at the National Cancer Institute who was not involved in the study, said that the new study strengthens the evidence that links genital talc to ovarian cancer. However, he said that he is not fully convinced of the linkage.

"While this recent analysis provides additional evidence supporting an association between talc and ovarian cancer, it will be important to test the methods used in this analysis in other data to see if the findings are confirmed," Wentzensen stated in an email.

The Daily Mail reported that almost 20,000 American women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer annually, based on the records of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Almost 14,500 of these women die from the disease yearly.

In 2006, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled genital talc as possibly carcinogenic. However, as of press time, CDC has not listed talc as a risk factor for ovarian cancer.