A multiple-plaintiff lawsuit has recently been filed in Missouri by women or next-of-kin who all claim that their use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc powder and ovarian cancer are linked.

All of the plaintiffs in this talc powder and ovarian cancer lawsuit claim that they or the individual they represent developed ovarian cancer as a direct and proximate result of the use of either Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower powder on their genital area.

They believe that both defendants Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc committed “negligent, willful and wrongful conduct in connection with the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promoting, marketing, distribution, labeling and/or sale” of their baby powder products.

It is believed by the plaintiffs that the defendants knew as far back as the 1960s that talc powder and ovarian cancer had a connection and that their products could possibly cause this deadly form of cancer.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit have similar stories. Most of the women say they used Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower talc powder on their genital area for an extended period of time. Some of these women say they used the products in this manner for upwards of 50 years, and many of them experienced an untimely death allegedly because of talc powder and ovarian cancer, the plaintiffs claim.

Most of these plaintiffs believed through marketing and advertisement by the defendants that this practice was safe and were encouraged to use the products for a fresh feeling. Indeed, these products have been marketed for years for use on both women and babies as safe and effective.

The Link Between Talc Powder and Ovarian Cancer

Dozens of studies have shown evidence of a link between talc powder and ovarian cancer throughout the last several decades.

A 1971 study found that the particles in talc powder may be able to travel from the exterior genital area and embed themselves in ovaries. In fact, this study found that of 13 women who both used talc powder and had ovarian cancer, 10 had deeply embedded talc particles present. This, according to the study, increased the women’s risk of developing ovarian cancer.

In 1982, another study looking at the link between talc powder and ovarian cancer found a 92% elevated risk of ovarian cancer in women who reported genital talc powder use. With this study, the researchers advised Johnson & Johnson to include a warning on their label regarding the possibility of ovarian cancer.

The current talc powder lawsuit alleges that since 1982, there have been at least 22 studies done regarding the connection between talc powder and ovarian cancer. Most of them show an increased risk of ovarian cancer in women who use talc powder on their genitals.

It is a common belief among the plaintiffs in this lawsuit that the defendants knew about this elevated connection between talc powder and ovarian cancer, yet did nothing about it.

This Talc Powder and Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit is now Case No. 4:17-cv-01654 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.