A study in 2002 looked for links between antiperspirant use and breast cancer in 1,500 women. The researchers found that neither antiperspirants nor deodorants increased breast cancer risk. These conclusions were based on interviews with 813 women with breast cancer and 793 women with no history of breast cancer. The result was published in The Journal of National Cancer Institute.

Most of us know that our body does not need aluminium. Aluminium is a poison to our body that serves no beneficial effect in our body. However, if you are a regular user of deodorant or antiperspirant, you might expose to this aluminium because aluminium is accounts for about 25% of deodorants or antiperspirants. Aluminium can form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin’s surface. Darbre PD and his team of researchers suggest that aluminum-based compounds, which are applied frequently and left on the skin near the breast, may be absorbed by the skin and cause estrogen-like (hormonal) effects. Because estrogen has the ability to promote the growth of breast cancer cells, Darbre PD et al in their publication at Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry in year 2005 also suggested that the aluminum-based compounds in antiperspirants may contribute to the development of breast cancer.

A small study in 17 women with breast cancer was quite widely reported in the news in 2007. It found higher levels of aluminium in the part of the breast nearest the skin, and the authors speculated that aluminium in deodorants might cause breast cancer.But the design of this study was not strong enough to draw that conclusion. The number recruited for this study is rather small to draw conclusive resultSecondly, the researchers also did not compare levels of aluminium in these womens’ breasts to level in other parts of their bodies, or to levels in women who do not have breast cancer.

So, what is the conclusion? More established study with proper sample size should be conducted in order to solve this controversy.

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