[GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES]  A domestic research team has found that deodorants such as antiperspirants or deodorants used to reduce armpit sweat or odor do not increase the risk of breast cancer.

On the 23rd, Professor Myung Seung-kwon's team in the Department of Cancer AI and Digital Health confirmed this fact as a result of a meta-analysis of seven case-control studies published in international academic journals from 2002 to 2021. The researchers explained that sweat is an odorless liquid composed of water, electrolytes, and proteins, but when it comes into contact with bacteria living in the armpits, volatile compounds that emit a foul odor are created.

Deodorants and antiperspirants used to suppress sweat and odor contain aluminum. Concerns have been raised that aluminum components may cause breast cancer by activating genotoxicity and estrogen action. In particular, there was controversy over the fact that breast cancer often occurs in the upper and outer breast area near the armpits, where deodorant is mainly used.

However, in this study, a comparative analysis of the breast cancer patient group and the normal control group showed that there was no significant correlation between deodorant use and the occurrence of breast cancer.