Johnson & Johnson faces a woman’s recent baby powder cancer lawsuit alleging that she developed ovarian cancer as a result of using the company’s talc-based baby powder product.

Plaintiff Jean L. files the baby powder cancer lawsuit in California federal court. The lawsuit was filed on March 5, 2018.

According to the baby powder cancer lawsuit, Jean says that her diagnosis of ovarian cancer is “directly and proximately caused by her regular and prolonged exposure to talcum powder” contained in Johnson’s Baby Powder.

Jean, born in 1940, says that she has used Johnson’s Baby Powder for nearly her entire life. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on March 16, 2016. Her treatment for ovarian cancer included chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, omentectomy, and a surgical abdominal hysterectomy.

The baby powder cancer lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including failure to warn, design and/or manufacturing defect, negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, punitive damages, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, fraud, violation of the unfair competition law, restitution, false advertising law, among others.

Overview: Baby Powder Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 22,240 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States in 2018. Estimates also say that about 14,070 women will die from ovarian cancer this year as well.

The American Cancer Society warns that amongst cancer deaths in women, ovarian cancer ranks fifth, and that it accounts “for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.”

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against J&J alleging that the company’s baby powder products increase the risk of ovarian cancer when it is used genitally for many years. What researchers believe may be causing cancer is the product’s main ingredient talc. Lawsuits allege that the products are almost entirely composed of talc.

Accusations against the company claim that J&J knew of the link between the product’s talc ingredient and ovarian cancer, but failed to disclose the information to consumers.

According to the baby powder cancer lawsuit, since 1982, there have been approximately 22 studies providing data regarding the association between ovarian cancer and talc. Each study concluded that there are elevated risks for ovarian cancer development when talc is used genitally in women.

In fact, a case-controlled study published in JAMA in 1983 found a 150 percent increased risk for women who have used talcum powder genitally.

According to a 1988 case controlled study of 188 women who were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer and 539 control subjects, they found that 52 percent of “cancer patients habitually used talcum powder on the genital area before their cancer diagnosis.”

According to the lawsuit, “[t]he study showed a 50% increase in risk of ovarian cancer in women that used talcum powder on their genital area and a positive dose-response relationship.”

In a separate study conducted in 1989, the study evaluated 235 women with ovarian cancer and 451 control subjects and discovered a 29 percent increased risk for the development of ovarian cancer from talcum powder usage.

Sources report that through the usage of a talcum based powder, talc may travel upwards from a woman’s genital area and toward her ovaries. Once embedded in her tissue, it may lead to the development of cancerous tumors and adverse side effects such as inflammation.

The Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01424-MEJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.