Personal Use Of Consumer Hair Dyes Increases Risk Of Bladder Cancer, Shows New Meta-Analysis By The Meta-analysis Research Group

The use of permanent hair dyes among men and women increases the risk of developing bladder cancer by up to 50 percent, according to a report published in the January/February 2005 issue of Public Health Reports, the official journal of the U.S. Public Health Service.

The principal investigator, Michael Huncharek. M.D., MPH, director of the Meta-Analysis Research Group and a Marshfield Clinic Radiation Oncologist, conducted a meta-analysis of data from seven existing epidemiological studies on hair dye and cancer. Using a rigorous prospective protocol, the meta-analysis found the risk of developing bladder cancer increased by 22 to 50 percent among those using permanent hair dye products versus those who do not.

Bladder cancer is a major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in the United States with some 57,000 new cases diagnosed each year resulting in approximately 13,000 deaths from the disease.

The available data indicate that the highest cancer risk is associated with consumer use of permanent hair dyes with somewhat less risk tied to semi-permanent hair dye products.

A 1999 American Cancer Society study found that women who use permanent hair dye products did not have a greater risk of death from bladder cancer than those who did not use such products. Huncharek said he conducted the present meta-analysis because he believes the issue is not deaths from bladder cancer but the incidence rate (i.e. number of new cases of the disease), which has increased one percent a year over the last decade.

"Examining only death rate of bladder cancer is inappropriate since most bladder cancers (approximately 80 percent) involve only the superficial layers of the bladder and can be cured either with chemotherapy or surgical removal of the bladder," Huncharek pointed out. "Since a large majority of bladder cancers can potentially be cured, although with substantial morbidity and cost, a mortality study can grossly underestimate the true health risk associated with hair dye use." Also, a proportion of initially superficial tumors eventually invade the bladder's muscular wall and raises the risk of death from the disease, he said.

The culprit in permanent hair dyes appears to be aromatic amines, known animal carcinogens that can also be found in cigarettes. Hair dye products are exempt from FDA regulation, a situation that may need re-evaluation, according to Huncharek.

"I personally would not use permanent hair dye products and I recommend that those who do should use them cautiously, especially if they smoke or have a family history of bladder cancer," Huncharek said. "Additional well designed studies are needed that take into account product type, duration and frequency of use and the natural histories of both superficial and muscle-invasive bladder cancer."

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Tags: hair dyes, bladder, cancer, meta-analysis, risk,,,

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