First Talcum, Ovarian Cancer Study Published in 1971
The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology supplied content for early talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit news when it first reported a connection between talcum powder and an increased risk in ovarian cancer in a 1971 study that found talc in 10 of 13 ovarian tumors examined.
Monday, January 4, 2016 - The evidence backing more than 100 talcum powder lawsuits around the country alleging a link between the product and ovarian cancer began with a single British study conducted in 1971. This investigation into the connection between the common hygienic powder used by millions of women was a catalyst for more than 20 further studies into the topic, raising concerns to the point that litigation nationwide arose against talcum powder Johnson & Johnson claiming that the company should have known about the information being published about talcum powder and provided consumers with a warning about their product's connection to ovarian cancer. Talcum powder lawsuit news outlets agree for the most part that this was the first study that found significant connections between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.
The British study published in a 1971 edition of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is widely regarded as the first talcum powder study conducted that looked at the possibly link between the substance and an increased risk in ovarian cancer. The talcum powder research published in the study (authored by W.J. Henderson) investigated a number of tumors removed from a patient suffering from ovarian cancer. The study revealed that of the 13 tumors tested by the researchers, 10 of them revealed particles of talc. This was a strong enough result for subsequent studies to look into the correlation.
The study claimed that the close relationship between talc and asbestos was intriguing and may have contributed to the results discovered in the research. Just two years after this study was published, the FDA banned the presence of asbestos in talc products in the U.S. The studies that followed continued to investigate the connections between talcum powder and ovarian cancer even after the product had been split from its associations with asbestos.
In a number of talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit news stories and the more than 20 studies that have been conducted, findings related to the connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer have elicited a range of results. Some of the talcum powder research has found that the regular use of talcum powder vaginally can lead to a 35 percent increase in the risk of ovarian cancer in women. Others have had a more difficult time building a reliable connection between regular talcum powder use and ovarian cancer, stating that though connections between the two exist, those links are too susceptible to bias and sampling errors to be definitive.
There has been enough data built up from the studies conducted however for plaintiffs around the country to file lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn consumers about the risks involved in using their talcum products. More than 100 lawsuits were recently involved in a motion to transfer the actions into multicounty litigation in New Jersey. A similar amount are currently pending in Missouri where actions in state court are entering the beginning stages of pretrial proceedings.
Johnson & Johnson has adamantly denied any link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, leaning on the studies that claim the connection between the two is not definitive. However more and more studies have backed up the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology's original leaning that an associated between the two does exist. Attorneys for the talcum powder plaintiffs have referenced the British study in court and talcum powder cancer lawsuit news as the beginning of decades of talcum powder research that has built a strong enough case to take action against Johnson & Johnson for their role in failing to warn consumers of the dangers associated with their product.
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