Beauty Products Could Threaten Cancer Survivors

One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. Now, there's a startling new study that shows something you likely have in your bathroom could be a threat to cancer survivors.

Monday, May 24th 2010, 10:42 pm

By: News 9


By Amy McRee, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. Now, there's a startling new study that shows something you likely have in your bathroom could be a threat to cancer survivors.

Sharon Aubuchon is like most women, she loves her beauty products and she has drawer after drawer of lotions and anti-aging creams.

But now, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Aubuchon may have to dump her beauty stash and find something else for her skin.

Aubuchon is a breast cancer survivor and she, along with about 40 percent of young survivors, is what's called 'estrogen receptor positive.' In simple terms, that means her form of cancer feeds off estrogen. And doctors very clearly warn: To avoid a cancer recurrence, avoid estrogen at all costs.

"We try so hard to give patients lifestyle recommendations and risk-reducing strategies and yet they could go to the grocery store, buy a product and actually be potentially increasing their risk," said Dr. Jennifer Klemp, Breast Cancer Survivorship Director.

Dr. Klemp first learned about this risk from a study she heard at the San Antonio Breast Cancer symposium.

"I can tell you that this included very expensive products…over $100 per bottle or container, all the way down to $10-$15 per," Dr. Tom Kupiec said.

Dr. Kupiec performed that study. He tested 16 over-the-counter moisturizers at his Analytical Research Lab in Oklahoma City. He found that six of them contained one of three forms of estrogen -- though, there's no mention of it on the label.

"I was surprised to see approximately one-third of them did contain some form of estrogen steroid," Dr. Kupiec said.

But the FDA won't get involved. They will only investigate if there is a reported problem. And in a written statement, the FDA said "We are not aware of cosmetic products on the market containing estrogen that are not listed on the product labeling."

"So it's a little concerning that there are a lot of products out there that people are using on an everyday basis -- sometimes more than one time a day -- that have no regulation, or very little regulation," Dr. Klemp said.

Part of the problem is that the FDA is working under the out-dated assumption that the skin is a barrier.

"The way we get most hormones in now is from a patch or a cream. So their definition of how product enters the body is really an old definition," said Dr. Klemp.

"I was getting ready to put something on me that could cause my cancer to come back? I'm not really game for that," said Sharon Aubuchon.

The FDA says it's working on a process to detect estrogen in over-the-counter lotions. Because of scientific confidentiality, the scientists who performed the study are not yet willing to release the product names for lotions containing estrogen.

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