Should Women Who Have Used Talcum Powder For Feminine Hygiene Panic About Ovarian Cancer?

It's important to note that not absolutely every study of the relationship between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer finds a clear-cut relationship between the two. In one of the most recent studies, the "confidence interval," a range of correlations between talcum powder and cancer, finds that there is even a possibility that use of talcum powder reduces the risk of ovarian cancer, although the overall trend is for increasing risk of cancer. The data analysis really should be interpreted as "we're not sure" for that one study.

Why would studies of talcum powder and ovarian cancer not all get the same results. It turns out that researchers don't have a reliable way for finding out how much talcum powder women have used. The Nurses’ Health Study asked women how many times a week they used talcum powder for feminine hygiene. The Women's Health Initiative asked women how many years they had used the powder. Neither approach tells researchers how much powder was used, so the studies don't really reveal whether a little talcum powder is OK or whether it helps if women stop. Talcum powder seems to be one of ovarian cancer's causes, but that seems to be the limit of what can be stated with confidence.

What does all of this mean for women who have been using talcum powder for many years? Is it time to panic? Not really. Here is the data in perspective.

• Only about half of women ever use talcum powder for personal hygiene. Obviously, women who don't use the product are not at elevated risk.
• For the 52.6 percent of North American women who do use talcum powder, the increase in the risk of ovarian cancer is 36 percent. That doesn't mean that 36 percent of women who use talcum powder will get ovarian cancer. That means that instead of a 0.0012 percent risk of developing ovarian cancer in any given 12-month period, women who use talcum powder have approximately a 0.0016 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer in any given year. In other words, instead of approximately a 1 in 200 chance of developing the disease at some point during their adult lifetimes, they have about a 1 in 150 chance of developing ovarian cancer at some point during their adult lifetimes.
• Before 1980, talcum powder was often contaminated with asbestos. It is not contaminated with talcum powder now. Women who did not use talcum powder before 1980 may not be at as great a risk for cancer. 

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On the other hand, why not take simple measures to lower the risk of ovarian cancer even further. It is recommended that women:

• Avoid applying talcum powder to sanitary napkins and underwear.
• Avoid using talcum powder to "freshen" after bathing.
• Make sure that mineral cosmetics, which are OK for the face, not be applied in unusual places.
• Avoid the use of Chinese herbal medicines (usually formulas for "cooling") that include talcum powder.

Ovarian cancer is hard to detect and hard to treat. Anything that reduces the risk of this dread disease is a boon for women's health. Panic is not appropriate, however. Women should simply stop using talcum powder now.