Claim: Research finds talc doesn’t cause cancer; juries disagree.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Talc
text: some studies have found a link, but other studies have not. The studies discuss pulmonary issues, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. One of these, published in 1993, was a US National Toxicology Program report, which found that cosmetic grade talc containing no asbestos-like fibres was correlated with tumor formation in rats forced to inhale talc for 6 hours a day, five days a week over at least 113 weeks. A 1971 paper found particles of talc embedded in 75% of the ovarian tumors studied. Research published in 1995 and 2000 concluded that it was plausible that talc could cause ovarian

title: Talc
text: verdict of Eva Echeverria against Johnson & Johnson and its talc-containing consumer products for causing cancer. The judge stated that Eva Echeverria proved there is "an ongoing debate in the scientific and medical community about whether talc more probably than not causes ovarian cancer and thus (gives) rise to a duty to warn", but not enough to sustain the jury's imposition of liability against Johnson & Johnson stated, and concluded that Echeverria did not adequately establish that talc causes ovarian cancer. In July 2018, a court in St. Louis awarded a $4.7bn claim ($4.14bn in punitive damages and $550m in

title: Talc
text: cancer, but no conclusive evidence was shown. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have set occupational exposure limits to respirable talc dusts at 2 mg/m over an eight-hour workday. At levels of 1000 mg/m, inhalation of talc is considered immediately dangerous to life and health. The United States Food and Drug Administration considers talc (magnesium silicate) to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as an anticaking agent in table salt in concentrations smaller than 2%. One particular issue with commercial use of talc is its frequent

title: Talc
text: of fluid in the space between the lungs and the thoracic wall). It is inserted into the space via a chest tube, causing it to close up, so fluid cannot collect there. The finished product has been sterilized by gamma irradiation. Talc powder is a household item, sold globally for use in personal hygiene and cosmetics. Suspicions have been raised that its use contributes to certain types of disease, mainly cancers of the ovaries and lungs. It is classified as a group 3 agent in the IARC listing. Reviews by Cancer Research UK and the American Cancer Society conclude that

title: Ovarian cancer
text: to ovarian cancer. Other factors that have been investigated, such as smoking, low levels of vitamin D in the blood, presence of inclusion ovarian cysts, and infection with human papilloma virus (the cause of some cases of cervical cancer), have been disproven as risk factors for ovarian cancer. The carcinogenicity of perineal talc is controversial, because it can act as an irritant if it travels through the reproductive tract to the ovaries. Case-control studies have shown that use of perineal talc does increase the risk of ovarian cancer, but using talc more often does not create a greater risk. Use

title: Johnson's Baby
text: 2016, J&J was ordered to pay $72 million in damages to the family of Jackie Fox, a 62-year-old woman who died of ovarian cancer in 2015. She had used Johnson's Baby Powder for many years. J&J claimed that the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence and it plans to appeal the verdict. The British charity, Ovacome was quoted as saying that while there were 16 studies which showed that using talc increased the risk of ovarian cancer by around a third, and a 2013 review of US studies had similar results for genital, but not

title: Talc
text: female genital area. Yet no federal agency in the US acted to remove talcum powder from the market or add warnings. In February 2016, as the result of a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a St. Louis jury awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer. The family claimed that the use of talcum powder was responsible for her cancer. In May 2016, a South Dakota woman was awarded $55 million as the result of another lawsuit against J&J. The woman had used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder for more than 35

title: Talc
text: co-location in underground deposits with asbestos ore. Stringent quality control since 1976, including separating cosmetic- and food-grade talc from "industrial" grade talc, has eliminated this issue, but it remains a potential hazard requiring mitigation in the mining and processing of talc. A 2010 US FDA survey failed to find asbestos in a variety of talc-containing products. A 2018 Reuters investigation has asserted that pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that there was asbestos in its baby powder. In 2006 the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified talcum powder as a possible human carcinogen if used in the

title: Asbestos
text: fibers actually were found in the samples." Multiple studies by mineral chemists, cell biologists, and toxicologists between 1970 and 2000 found neither samples of asbestos in talc products nor symptoms of asbestos exposure among workers dealing with talc, but more recent work has rejected these conclusions in favor of "same as" asbestos risk. On July 12, 2018, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged the company’s talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer. Six mineral types are defined by the United

title: Talc
text: years before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011. In October 2016, a St. Louis jury awarded $70.1 million to a Californian woman with ovarian cancer who had used Johnson's Baby Powder for 45 years. In August 2017, a Los Angeles jury awarded $417 million to a Californian woman, Eva Echeverria, who developed ovarian cancer as a "proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder", her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson stated. At least 1,200 to 2,000 other talcum powder-related lawsuits are pending. On 20 October 2017, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Maren Nelson, dismissed the

title: Levy Konigsberg
text: landmark talc case against a manufacturer for selling talc that was contaminated with asbestos. The firm secured a jury verdict for a man who developed mesothelioma from working in a factory that manufactured cosmetic talc products between 1967 and 1975. The firm has also litigated asbestos cases against manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos-containing automotive products. In 2008, the firm obtained a $30.3 million jury verdict in Bergen County, New Jersey in a case in which a man died from mesothelioma at the age of 50. The man was exposed to asbestos from working a few summers at a General Motors

title: Institute of Cancer Research
text: able to take the drug discoveries directly into a partner hospital for clinical trials in cancer patients. The unit led to the Institute's discovery of three successful chemotherapy drugs in the 1950s: busulphan (Myleran), chlorambucil (Leukeran) and melphalan (Alkeran). In 1952 the ICR's Eric Boyland had proposed that certain chemicals that cause cancer (carcinogens) react with DNA through an alkylation mechanism that damaged the DNA molecule. In follow-up research at the ICR in 1964, Professors Peter Brookes and Philip Lawley proved that chemical carcinogens act by damaging DNA, leading to mutations and the formation of tumours, proving that cancer is

title: Asbestos
text: cleanup area. The EPA has determined that harmful asbestos is released from the mine as well as through other activities that disturb soil in the area. Talc can sometimes be contaminated with asbestos due to the proximity of asbestos ore (usually tremolite) in underground talc deposits. By 1973, US federal law required all talc products to be asbestos-free, and today there is strict quality control in the production of talc products, separating cosmetic-grade talc (e.g. talcum powder) from industrial-grade talc (often used in friction products) has largely eliminated this issue for consumers. In 2000, tests in a certified asbestos-testing laboratory

title: Talc
text: interiors such as base content paints in wall coatings. Other areas that use talc to a great extent are organic agriculture, food industry, cosmetics, and hygiene products such as baby powder and detergent powder. Talc is sometimes used as an adulterant to illegal heroin, to expand volume and weight and thereby increase its street value. With intravenous use, it may lead to pulmonary talcosis, a granulomatous inflammation in the lungs. Sterile talc powder (NDC 63256-200-05) is a sclerosing agent used in the procedure of pleurodesis. This can be helpful as a cancer treatment to prevent pleural effusions (an abnormal collection

title: Carcinogen
text: of these compounds cause DNA damage by forming DNA adducts or by inducing other alterations in DNA. DNA damages are subject to error-prone DNA repair or can cause replication errors. Such errors in repair or replication can result in mutations in tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes leading to cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer [(1.4 million cases, 10.9%), but ranks 5th as cause of death (458,000, 6.1%)]. Increased risk of breast cancer is associated with persistently elevated blood levels of estrogen. Estrogen appears to contribute to breast carcinogenesis by three processes; (1) the metabolism of estrogen to

title: Ovarian cancer
text: of talc elsewhere on the body is unrelated to ovarian cancer. Sitting regularly for prolonged periods is associated with higher mortality from epithelial ovarian cancer. The risk is not negated by regular exercise, though it is lowered. Increased age (up to the 70s) is a risk factor for epithelial ovarian cancer because more mutations in cells can accumulate and eventually cause cancer. Those over 80 are at slightly lower risk. Smoking tobacco is associated with a higher risk of mucinous ovarian cancer; after smoking cessation, the risk eventually returns to normal.A diet high in animal fats may be associated with

title: Carcinogen
text: also likely contribute to the incidence of DNA damage and breast cancer risk. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer [1.2 million cases (9.4%), 608,000 deaths (8.0%)]. Tobacco smoke may be responsible for up to 20% of colorectal cancers in the United States. In addition, substantial evidence implicates bile acids as an important factor in colon cancer. Twelve studies (summarized in Bernstein et al.) indicate that the bile acids deoxycholic acid (DCA) and/or lithocholic acid (LCA) induce production of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species and/or reactive nitrogen species in human or animal colon cells. Furthermore, 14 studies showed that DCA

title: Asbestos
text: and changed their product formulations in the United States. The mining company, R T Vanderbilt Co of Gouverneur, New York, which supplied the talc to the crayon makers, states that "to the best of our knowledge and belief" there is no asbestos in its talc. However media reports claim that the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) had found asbestos in four talc samples tested in 2000. The Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health subsequently wrote to the news reporter, stating that "In fact, the abbreviation ND (non detect) in the laboratory report – indicates no asbestos

title: Risk factors for breast cancer
text: benzene. The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Toxicology Program have labeled benzene as a definite human carcinogen. Multiple studies point to a correlation between benzene exposure and breast cancer risk. Laboratory studies on mice have shown that a high level of benzene exposure can lead to mammary cancer. Although the pesticide DDT was banned over 20 years ago, studies have shown that there are still trace amounts found in certain agricultural products, as well as in human and animal milk. While individual studies have come to conflicting conclusions, the most recent reviews of all the evidence

title: Cancer
text: accumulated in DNA over a lifetime and age-related changes in the endocrine system. Aging's effect on cancer is complicated by factors such as DNA damage and inflammation promoting it and factors such as vascular aging and endocrine changes inhibiting it. Some slow-growing cancers are particularly common, but often are not fatal. Autopsy studies in Europe and Asia showed that up to 36% of people have undiagnosed and apparently harmless thyroid cancer at the time of their deaths and that 80% of men develop prostate cancer by age 80. As these cancers do not cause the patient's death, identifying them would