A new study shows there is a link between use of talc powder and ovarian cancer. Compared to women who do not use the talcum powder products, African American women who apply talc powder are more likely to get the illness, according to the study.

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists from ten different institutions, including Duke University and the University of Virginia, examined potential talcum powder dangers and risks using data from the African American Cancer Epidemiology Study (AACES) to arrive at their results.

Looking at 584 women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, along with 745 women who were cancer-free, the researchers discovered that African American women who reported using genital talc powder frequently were about 44 percent more likely to have developed ovarian cancer than women who did not use talc powder.

Risks were even increased among women who used talc powder in non-genital applications. These women were at a 28 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Importantly, the study found a “dose-response relationship” between talc powder and cancer. In other words, the more a woman used talc powder the higher her risk of developing ovarian cancer became.

Talcum Powder Dangers

Over the last three decades, numerous studies have found a link between talc powder and ovarian cancer. But the 44 percent increase in cancer risk is a particularly strong finding.

In 2015, for example, a paper published in the journal Epidemiology found that women who reported routine genital use of talc-based baby powders were 33 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer. Most recent studies have found similar results, averaging around a 30 percent increased risk.

Lack of Research on Black Women

Dr. Joellen Schildkraut, who led the recent talc powder study on African American women, thinks race may play a major role in why some studies have described lower increased risks than her own research.

Talc powder use is particularly common in African American communities, but this is one of the first studies to look specifically at the product’s risks in black women, who are historically underrepresented in epidemiological studies.

As just one example, a 2013 study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research included 30 white participants for every 1 black participant.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Schildkraut said that studying a large group of black women, rather than women from other races, actually made her study more powerful than previous research, which failed to take racial differences in powder use into account.

“I was a cynic [about the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer] until these recent studies came out,” she told reporters. “As you look across all these studies, I would say, why use it? It’s an avoidable risk for ovarian cancer.”

A 2015 study conducted in Los Angeles found that while around 30 percent of white and Hispanic women reported using talcum powders, nearly 44 percent of African American women used the products. Schildkraut’s talc powder study found even higher rates of usage.

In fact, many of the cancer-free women who were interviewed for the study, nearly 53 percent, reported using talc powder frequently.

Powder use, as you would expect if talc and ovarian cancer are causally connected, was even more common among African American women with cancer. Nearly 63 percent of the cancer patients reported dusting themselves with talcum powders regularly.

Talc Powder Lawsuits

This lack of research on African American women and talc powder usage may not be random. In more than 1,000 lawsuits, ovarian cancer patients have accused Johnson & Johnson, America’s primary manufacturer of talc-based powders, of marketing the product aggressively to black women.

If you have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and believe that it could be due to the use of talc powder products, you should take steps to protect yourself.  You can start by contacting a talc powder cancer lawyer to see if you are eligible to file a talc powder ovarian cancer lawsuit.