Permanent Hair Dyes Tied to Adult Leukemia Risk By Amy Norton

Dangers of Hair Dyes

Hair dye alert reveals risk to cancer By Victoria Fletcher

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Permanent Hair Dyes Tied to Adult Leukemia Risk By Amy Norton

People who spent years using older permanent hair dyes may have somewhat higher odds of developing leukemia, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among men and women surveyed in the late 1980s, those who had used permanent hair dyes prior to 1980 were more likely to develop leukemia than adults who had never dyed their hair.

Acute leukemia is a quickly progressing form of leukemia in which immature, non-functioning blood cells accumulate and crowd out normal cells. Hair dyes have long been studied as a potential risk factor for a number of cancers, but research has yielded conflicting findings.

Older formulations contained potentially cancer-causing chemicals, and there is evidence tying hair dyes to the risk of blood-related cancers such as leukemia and multiple myeloma. Not all studies, however, have come to this conclusion.

The new study compared 769 acute leukemia patients with 623 adults without the disease. It found that men and women who had used permanent dyes one to five times per year for 15 years or longer were more than twice as likely to develop leukemia as people who had never dyed their hair.

Temporary hair dyes that wash out with a few shampoos and hair dye use beginning in 1980 or later were not linked to the disease.

Together with past research, these findings suggest hair dye use is a "potential but not an especially strong risk factor" for leukemia and other blood-related cancers, according to lead study author Dr. Garth H. Rauscher of the University of Illinois in Chicago.

And it does appear that long-term use and use of older coloring products are key factors, Rauscher told Reuters Health.

He and his colleagues report the findings in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The findings are similar to those of a study earlier this year that linked long-term use of older permanent hair dyes to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in women. Again, women who used hair dyes after 1980 did not have an elevated cancer risk, and the researchers speculated that changes in product formulations made in response to cancer concerns could be the reason.

Rauscher said evidence so far suggests that while people who have colored their hair do not seem to face a greater risk of most cancers, the "possible exception" is cancer of the blood or lymph nodes-which includes leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The reason is unclear, but it may have to do with the fact that the blood is the "first point of contact" for cancer-promoting chemicals that are able to penetrate the scalp, Rauscher noted.

However, he also pointed out that while some studies like his - comparisons of leukemia or lymphoma patients with healthy adults - have linked hair dyes to a higher cancer risk, other studies that have followed hair dye users over time have failed to do so.

Dangers of Hair Dyes

Natural hair dyes are enjoying an upswing in popularity as the dangers of chemicals found in commercial preparations are seeping into public awareness.

How high a price are we willing to pay for beauty?

More than 75 million women color their hair regularly.

One in 12 men colors his hair regularly.

But hair coloring made it onto the Cancer Prevention Coalition's Dirty Dozen list of most harmful consumer products--Clairol's Nice and Easy permanent hair coloring, to be specific. Its stew of labeled carcinogenic (cancer-causing) ingredients include Quaternium-15, also a formaldehyde releaser; Diethanolamine; and Phenylene-Diamines.

Phenylenediamine in particular should be avoided. Using permanent and semi-permanent hair coloring regularly is strongly associated with increased risk of cancer, including Hodgkins, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma and perhaps leukemia and breast cancer. The dye para-phenylenediamine (PPED), present in nearly all hair coloring products, was shown to be carcinogenic to the breast in 1986 following oxidation with hydrogen peroxide--which is exactly how the products are applied.

As a matter of fact, information from the National Cancer Institute suggests that 20 percent of all cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in women is due to regularly using permanent hair coloring. It is noteworthy that the lovely Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who regularly dyed her hair black, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Prolonged use of dark--especially black--hair coloring may increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Hair coloring products also contain Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE's), which are found in spermicides and pesticides. They are created from and break down into alkylphenols--two of which, nonylphenol and octylphenol, are suspected hormone disruptors. Studies have discovered altered reproduction, hermaphoditism and lower survival rates among salmon and other fish in waterways contaminated with nonylphenol.

As if that weren't enough, the Harvard School of Public Health's epidemiology department discovered that women who use hair coloring five times or more annually are twice as likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who never use hair dye. Further, a study published in the International Cancer Journal found that women who use permanent hair coloring are also twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than those who do not.

And the icing on top of the toxic cake is that the risk of childhood cancer could be increased tenfold for children whose mothers use hair coloring shortly prior to conceiving or during pregnancy.

Sources:

Nation Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Genetic Connection In Link Between Permanent Hair Dye Use And Bladder Cancer Risk

Food and Drug Administration
Heading Off Hair-Care Disasters: Use Caution With Relaxers and Dyes

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, February 2, 1994, pages 210–215; Environmental Health Perspectives, June-July 1994, volume 102, number 6–7.

American Journal of Public Health. December, 1998

Cancer Causes and Control, December 1999, pages 551–559

Hair dye alert reveals risk to cancer By Victoria Fletcher (Evening Standard)

Fears over the safety of some of Britain's most popular hair dyes are raised today.

Scientists have discovered that in many cases, cosmetics giants have failed to carry out all the necessary experiments to ensure their products are safe.

A review of 10 hair dyes on sale across Europe has discovered that seven have insufficient data to confirm their safety.

In some cases, cosmetic companies failed to properly examine whether their dyes could cause cancer or cause cells to mutate.

One large scientific study in California has suggested a link with bladder cancer. And in Denmark, hair dye users are suing manufacturers, claiming their products caused allergic reactions.

The latest research has been carried out by a team of scientists working for the European Commission. They have been asked to review the research which led to 47 dyes being put on sale. The review of the first 10 hair dyes has just been released and reveals lapses in safety checks.

Insiders at the EC believe tough regulation of the hair dye industry may not be far away. It is thought a list of good and bad hair dyes will be drawn up, banning those which the industry cannot prove are safe.

Dr Ian White, the chairman of the Scientific Committee on Cosmetics and Non-Food Products, which is conducting the review, said the investigation was a major step in identifying which hair dyes can remain on sale and which may eventually be dropped from use.

He said: "There are more than 100 dyes used by the industry. Over recent years, at least 47 have come under scrutiny in one member state or another and we have been asked to review their safety. There is insufficient data to confirm the safety of a number of these dyes.

"It will now be up to the European Commission to decide what should be done and how long cosmetic companies should be given to provide new research which would prove they are safe.

"Some very complex chemicals are mixed up in hair dyes and so it's a whole new ball game as far as understanding their safety. But it is an issue which has to be sorted out."

Further research has suggested consumers who suffer from cancer after using permanent hair dyes may have an enzyme deficiency which makes them more vulnerable.

Proctor & Gamble, which owns Wella and Clairol, said it would not comment on the issue or what information consumers should be given on hair dye.

The Cosmetic, Toiletries and Perfumery Association, which represents the industry, said hair dyes are still safe to use as there is no new evidence that they may pose a threat to health.

Dr Christopher Flowers, a spokesman for the group, said: "Hair colourant products on the market are safe for use. They are controlled by the European Cosmetics Directive, which requires each hair colourant product to undergo a safety assessment prior to marketing.

"These assessments are open to inspection by the competent authority."

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