Does everything from the mundane to the weird cause cancer? Let’s explore five bizarre claims about everyday stuff and why you should or shouldn’t care.
Artificial Sweeteners
The Claim:
A link between low calorie artificial sweeteners, also called sugar substitutes, and cancer first arose in the 1970s when scientists discovered high doses of the artificial sweeteners cyclamate and saccharin were associated with bladder cancer in lab rats.
The Finding:
In 2000, the U.S. National Toxicology Program removed saccharin from its report on cancer-causing substances after decades of studies found the biological mechanisms that caused saccharin to increase bladder cancer in rats “was not relevant to humans.”
The consumer health warning was removed from sweetener packages in the United States because those tests produced no consistent evidence that saccharin is associated with bladder cancer incidence in people.
Cyclamate is currently used in foods and beverages in more than 100 countries worldwide, including Canada, Australia and Europe but is banned in the United States.
Aspartame
The Claim:
In recent years, health questions about aspartame also surfaced. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener distributed since 1981 under several trade names, including NutraSweet® and Equal®.
In 1996 a report suggested that aspartame might be associated with an increase in brain cancers in the United States. In 2005, a separate study found that aspartame might be linked to an increase in leukemias and lymphomas in lab rats fed very high doses of the sugar substitute -- equivalent to drinking 8 to 2,083 cans of diet soda daily.
The Finding:
The U.S. National Cancer Institute examined human data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study of more than a half a million retirees in 2006. It found increasing consumption of aspartame-containing beverages was not associated with the development of lymphoma, leukemia or brain cancer.
Hair Dyes
The Claim:
A 2008 report of the Working Group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that some of the more than 5,000 different chemicals used in hair dye products are “probably carcinogenic to humans” after it discovered an increase of bladder cancer in hairdressers and barbers.
This raised concern over the possibility of personal use hair dyes also posing health risks since its use is ubiquitous in most industrialized nations.
The Finding:
Some studies have linked the personal use of hair dyes with increased risks of certain cancers of the blood and bone marrow, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and leukemia, while other studies have not shown such links, according to NCI. Likewise, studies of hair dye use and breast and bladder cancer have also produced conflicting results.
Based on its review of more than a dozen studies, IARC concluded that personal use of hair dyes is “not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans”. Researchers are continuing to study whether occupational exposure to hair dyes is a health risk for hairdressers and barbers.
Cell Phones
The Claim:
A 1993 lawsuit was filed against a mobile phone manufacturer by a man who claimed that his wife’s device emitted radiofrequency energy which was responsible for her brain cancer.
The claim was aired on Larry King Live and the broadcast provoked such a public outcry, a rash of similar lawsuits, and millions of dollars poured into studying whether radio waves emitted by cell phones could be harmful.
The Finding:
The largest study to date, published in 2010 in the International Journal of Epidemiology, could neither confirm nor dismiss a connection between cell phones and cancer.
Scientists tracked about 13,000 adults for a decade and found only a slightly higher rate of one of four cancers — gliomas, a particularly aggressive variety of brain cancer — among frequent cell users. Participants gave their own estimates of how much time they spent talking, which may have muddied the results.
Researchers have now embarked on an even larger study, called COSMOS, in Europe, and one investigating any possible health effects among children.
Underarm Shaving and Breast Cancer
The Claim:
A 2003 study analyzed questionnaires from 813 women with breast cancer and compared them with 793 women without the disease. The researcher reported that women diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age said they used antiperspirant and started shaving their underarms earlier and shaved more often than women diagnosed when they were older.
Some speculation, mostly through urban legends and chain emails, said that razor nicks caused by underarm shaving allowed chemicals to easily seep into breast cells.
The Finding:
There are no strong epidemiologic studies in the medical literature that link breast cancer risk and antiperspirant use, and very little scientific evidence to support this claim. Razor nicks may increase underarm skin infection, but shaving or using deodorants or antiperspirants are unlikely to be a cause of breast cancer, cites the American Cancer Society web site.
Experts criticized the 2003 study design as “not relevant” since it did not use a control group. Another 2012 study found traces of parabens, a preservative used in cosmetics, hair conditioner and antiperspirants, in 99 percent of mastectomy patients’ tumor samples.
Parabens have weak estrogen-like properties, studies have shown, but it’s unclear as to whether or not parabens fuel breast cancer. The 2012 study says that the evidence does not confirm a link between parabens and breast cancer, but does call for further research to determine if one exists.
Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast who lives in San Diego with her husband and two beach loving dogs. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in publications internationally.
Sources:
Artificial Sweeteners:
National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners#ref2
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Esposti DD, Lambertini L. Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias in rats.
European Journal of Oncology 2005; 10(2):107–116.
Lim U, Subar AF, Mouw T, et al. Consumption of aspartame-containing beverages and incidence of hematopoietic and brain malignancies. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2006; 15(9):1654–1659. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461?dopt=Abstract
More information about artificial sweeteners is available through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov
Hairdyes and Cancer:
NCI
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/hair-dyes#r6
Cell Phone and Cancer:
NCI Statement: International Study Shows No Increased Risk of Brain Tumors from Cell Phone Use
http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2010/Interphone2010Results
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
Shaving, Deodorants or Antiperspirants:
American Cancer Society.
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/antiperspirants-and-breast-cancer-risk
McGrath KG. An earlier age of breast cancer diagnosis related to more frequent use of antiperspirants/deodorants and underarm shaving. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2003;12:479-485.
http://terranaturals.com/pdf/mcgrath_full.pdf
National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet. 2008.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo
Measurement of paraben concentrations in human breast tissueat serial locations across the breast from axilla to sternum. L. Barr, G. Metaxas, C. A. J. Harbach, L. A. Savoy, P. D. Darbre. Journal of Applied Toxicology Vol. 32, Issue 3, pages 219–232, March 2012.
Abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jat.1786/abstract;jsessionid=D715345619D8FCC958CF30A4C10424A3.d01t04
Reviewed June 25, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith