International Agency for Research on Cancer Publishes Study Finding Talc ‘Probably Carcinogenic’ for Humans

LONDON –– The International Agency for Research on Cancer has published an article in which it concludes that talc is “probably carcinogenic” for humans, but cautioned that its findings were based on “limited evidence” that talc could cause ovarian cancer in humans.

In the July 5 announcement, the World Health Organization’s cancer unit pointed to sufficient evidence that talc exposure was linked to cancer in rats and “strong mechanistic evidence” that exposure to talc showed carcinogenic changes in human cells.

The findings were published in the July issue of The Lancet Oncology.

In an image published by the agency, it …