Lindsey S. Treviño, a researcher at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization in Los Angeles, stated in a press release that “Black women are more likely to buy and use hair products with these types of chemicals, but we do not have a lot of data about how parabens may increase breast cancer risk in Black women,” according to the Endocrine Society.

“This is because Black women have not been picked to take part in most research studies looking at this link,” Treviño continued. “Also, studies to test this link have only used breast cancer cell lines from white women.”

According to the researchers, parabens increased the growth of a Black breast cancer cell line, but the same effect was not seen in the white breast cancer cell line at the doses tested.

“These results provide new data that parabens also cause harmful effects in breast cancer cells from Black women,” Treviño said.

The study is a part of a community-led project known as the Bench to Community Initiative. A group of scientists and community members, including breast cancer survivors, came together during the research to create ways to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals in hair and personal care products.

“While this project focuses on Black women, the knowledge we gain about the link between exposure to harmful chemicals in personal care products and breast cancer risk can be used to help all women at high risk of getting breast cancer,” Treviño said.

The study will be presented on Tuesday at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta.