title: If exposure to aluminium in antiperspirants presents health risks, its content should be reduced.
abstract: Since aluminium (Al) pervades our environment, the scientific community has for many years raised concerns regarding its safety in humans. Al is present in numerous cosmetics such as antiperspirants, lipsticks and sunscreens. Al chlorohydrate is the active antiperspirant agent in underarm cosmetics and may constitute for Al a key exposure route to the human body and a potential source of damage. An in vitro study has demonstrated that Al from antiperspirant can be absorbed through viable human stripped skin. The potential toxicity of Al has been clearly shown and recent works convincingly argue that Al could be involved in cancerogenic processes. Nowadays, for example, Al is suspected of being involved in breast cancer. Recent work in cells in culture has lent credence to the hypothesis that this metal could accumulate in the mammary gland and selectively interfere with the biological properties of breast epithelial cells, thereby promoting a cascade of alterations reminiscent of the early phases of malignant transformation. In addition, several studies suggest that the presence of Al in human breast could influence metastatic process. As a consequence, given that the toxicity of Al has been widely recognized and that it is not a physiological component in human tissues, reducing the concentration of this metal in antiperspirants is a matter of urgency.
authors.affiliation: Université de Nantes, Faculté de Pharmacie, Laboratoire de Toxicologie, 44035 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pineau
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Service de Pharmacologie clinique, CHU Poitiers, 86021 Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fauconneau
authors.affiliation: Clinique des Grangettes, Chemin des Grangettes 7, 1224 Chêne-Bougeries, Confédération Helvétique, Switzerland.
authors.forename: André-Pascal
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Sappino
authors.affiliation: Université de Tours, Faculté de Pharmacie, Laboratoire de Toxicologie, 37000 Tours, France.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deloncle
authors.affiliation: Université de Poitiers, Faculté de Médecine et Pharmacie, 6 rue de la Milétrie, 86034 Poitiers, France. Electronic address: olivier.guillard@univ-poitiers.fr.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Guillard
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000633:toxicity*; D051520:Antiperspirants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012869:Skin Absorption / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D051520:Antiperspirants; D000535:Aluminum
keywords: Aluminium; Antiperspirant; Breast cancer; Toxicity