Basic Household Cleaners a Breast Cancer Risk

New research released Tuesday is suggesting common household cleaners are breast cancer risk factors. Dr. Julia Brody and a team of researchers published their study in Tuesday’s edition of Environmental Health.

Brody and her colleagues, working for the Silent Spring Institute, compiled a sample group of 787 breast cancer patients and 721 women without breast cancer. The researchers’ interest was each woman’s daily cleaning routine.

The data indicated that women with a cleaning regimen involving a combination of various cleaners had as much as a 110 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who never used chemical cleaning agents. Women replacing their solid air fresheners more than seven times per year saw a doubling in their risk of breast cancer. Mold removal agents as well as similar products for mildew used more than once a week had a comparable doubling risk also. However household pesticides, polishing chemicals and bug repellents had only a slight risk increase.

Brody advises that the study may have been affected by “recall bias” as the data was self-reported by subjects. She suggests that further research be conducted, as this is believed to be the first study involving breast cancer and household cleaners.