Accessibility navigation


Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer

Darbre, P. D. (2005) Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 99 (9). pp. 1912-1919. ISSN 0162-0134

Full text not archived in this repository.

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2005.06.001

Abstract/Summary

Aluminium salts are used as the active antiperspirant agent in underarm cosmetics, but the effects of widespread, long term and increasing use remain unknown, especially in relation to the breast, which is a local area of application. Clinical studies showing a disproportionately high incidence of breast cancer in the upper outer quadrant of the breast together with reports of genomic instability in outer quadrants of the breast provide supporting evidence for a role for locally applied cosmetic chemicals in the development of breast cancer. Aluminium is known to have a genotoxic profile, capable of causing both DNA alterations and epigenetic effects, and this would be consistent with a potential role in breast cancer if such effects occurred in breast cells. Oestrogen is a well established influence in breast cancer and its action, dependent on intracellular receptors which function as ligand-activated zinc finger transcription factors, suggests one possible point of interference from aluminium. Results reported here demonstrate that aluminium in the form of aluminium chloride or aluminium chlorhydrate can interfere with the function of oestrogen receptors of MCF7 human breast cancer cells both in terms of ligand binding and in terms of oestrogen-regulated reporter gene expression. This adds aluminium to the increasing list of metals capable of interfering with oestrogen action and termed metal I oestrogens. Further studies are now needed to identify the molecular basis of this action, the longer term effects of aluminium exposure and whether aluminium can cause aberrations to other signalling pathways in breast cells. Given the wide exposure of the human population to antiperspirants, it will be important to establish dermal absorption in the local area of the breast and whether long term low level absorption could play a role in the increasing incidence of breast cancer. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences
ID Code:10303
Uncontrolled Keywords:antiperspirant, aluminium chlorhydrate, aluminium chloride, underarm, cosmetics, breast cancer, oestrogen, oestrogen receptor, ESTROGEN-RECEPTOR-ALPHA, POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS, UNDERARM COSMETICS, ZIRCONIUM COMPLEX, IN-VIVO, CELLS, EXPRESSION, RISK, DNA, CARCINOGENESIS

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation