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breast cancer research
Aluminium in breast
tissue – a possible
factor in the cause of
breast cancer
A new study
has identified a
regionally-specific
distribution of
aluminium in breast
tissue which may
have implications
for the cause of
breast cancer.
Scientists have found that the aluminium
content of breast tissue and breast tissue fat
was significantly higher in the outer regions of the
breast, in close proximity to the area where there
would be the highest density of antiperspirant.
Recent research has linked breast cancer with
the use of aluminium-based, underarm
antiperspirants. The known, but unaccounted
for, higher incidence of tumours in the upper
outer quadrant of the breast seemed to support
such a contention. However, the identification
of a mechanism of antiperspirant-induced breast
cancer has remained elusive.
A team, led by Dr Chris Exley (pictured) of the
Birchall Centre for Inorganic Chemistry and
Materials at Keele University, measured the
aluminium content of breast tissue from 17 breast
cancer patients recruited from Wythenshaw
Hospital, Manchester, UK. Whether differences
in the distribution of aluminium in the breast are
related to the known higher incidence of tumours
in the outer upper quadrant of the breast remains
to be ascertained.
The major constituent of antiperspirant is
aluminium salts which have long been associated
with cancer, as well as other human disease.
The daily application of aluminium-based
antiperspirants should result in the presence
of aluminium in the tissue of the underarm and
surrounding areas, though there is almost no data
on aluminium in breast tissue.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in
women and is the leading cause of death among
women aged 35-54. The cause of breast cancer
is unknown and is likely to be a combination of
generic and environmental factors.
Each of the patients in the study had undergone
a mastectomy and biopsies from four different
regions of the breast on a transect from the outer
(axilla and lateral) to the inner (middle and medial)
breast were collected.
Tests showed that while there were significant
differences in the concentrations of aluminium
between individuals they did show “a statistically
higher concentration of aluminium in the outer as
compared with the inner region of the breast”.
The report, published in the Journal of Inorganic
Biochemistry, goes on: “We have confirmed the
presence of aluminium in breast tissue and its
possible regional distribution within the breast.
Higher content of aluminium in the outer
breast might be explained by this region’s closer
proximity to the underarm where the highest
density of application of antiperspirant could be
assumed. There is evidence that skin is permeable
to aluminium when applied as antiperspirant.
“However, we have no direct evidence that the
aluminium measured in these breast biopsies
originated from antiperspirant. An alternative
explanation might be that tumorous tissue acts
as a ‘sink’ for systemic aluminium.”
But it goes on to say that “aluminium in breast
tissue might contribute” to breast cancer.
“Aluminium is a metalloestrogen, it is genotoxic,
is bound by DNA and has been shown to be
carcinogenic. It is also a pro-oxidant and this
unusual property might provide a mechanistic
basis for any putative carcinogenicity. The
confirmed presence of aluminium in breast tissue
biopsies highlights its potential as a possible factor
in the aetiology of breast cancer.”
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forever:keele | issue : three : April 2008