Geneva Breast Cancer Study warns of aluminum salts in deodorants

Deodorants with aluminum salts could possibly play a role in the development of breast cancer. The Researchers in Geneva demostrated in their test that breast cells from cultures with aluminum concentrations caused tumors with very aggressive behavior in mice. The Geneva Clinic announced that their test showed similar concentrations of aluminum in animals that were measured in the human breast which resulted in cancer with numerous metastases. The tests results have been published in a study written by Stefano Mandriota and André-Pascal Sappino of the Oncology Centre of the hospital in the "International Journal of Cancer". The researchers maintained that there is still no explanation for the increase in breast cancer cases in developed countries. Since breast cancer predominantly grows near the armpit, the potential harmfulness of aluminum in deodorants has long been in discussion. It has already been proved that Aluminum salts can penetrate the skin blanket after which they accumulate in the human breast. The Geneva study now shows that aluminum salts cause an accumulation of mutations in the genome of the affected cells, which is a known characteristic of cancer cells. These result brings back memories of asbestos history. Now further studies are necessary to better understand the role of aluminum cells in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. However, the findings constitute a significant piece of evidence against this exogenous substance. The researchers are calling on health authorities to limit the use of aluminum salts in the cosmetics industry. They compared the history of the use of aluminum salts to the dramatic case of asbestos. "The devastating effects of this low-cost substance with attractive characteristics for industry have not been identified for decades with the usual toxicological screening tests of the industry" the researchers warned. Asbestos has been banned in Switzerland since 1989.