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Body Powder Use and Ovarian Cancer Risk in Blacks
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; ePub 2016 May 12; Schildkraut, et al
Using body powder was linked with epithelial ovarian cancer risk in a study involving more than 1,300 black women.
Participants included women with (n=584) and without (n=745) ovarian cancer from the African American Epidemiology Cancer Study. Investigators looked at the link between genital and non-genital powder exposure and cancer risk. Among the results:
• 63% of the women with ovarian cancer used powder; 53% of those without did so.
• Those who reported genital powder use were 44% more likely to have ovarian cancer.
• There was a dose-response relationship for duration of use and number of lifetime applications.
• Non-genital use was also linked with cancer risk, particularly non-serous cancers.
The authors concluded that body powder is a modifiable risk factor for ovarian cancer among black women.
Citation: Schildkraut J, Abbott S, Alberg A, et al. Association between body powder use and ovarian cancer: The African American Cancer Epidemiology Study (AACES). [Published online ahead of print May 12, 2016]. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-15-1281.