Meta-Analysis Confirms Statistically Significant Ovarian Cancer Risk Increase Associated with Talc Use
Dr. Paolo Boffetta, associate director for cancer prevention at The Tisch Cancer Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, and his team carried out a meta-analysis of previous findings that found a “statistically significant link between women’s talcum-powder use and ovarian cancer,” according to NewsDay (newsday.com). Boffetta and his colleagues analyzed previously published analyses on the topic as well as prospective studies. Their findings were reported in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention.
Boffetta explained that women who use talc, such as Johnson & Johnson’s customers who use their Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® for personal care, have about a 20 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. When women use these talc products for feminine hygiene, as many have done for decades, particulates of talc travel to their ovaries, where they cultivate ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer is the most deadly form of reproductive malignancy—22,000 women are diagnosed annually and 14,000 women die of the disease annually, according to the American Cancer Society.
California Judge Holds Science Day in Preparation for July Trial
On March 7, Judge Maren Nelson held a “science day” hearing in order to better acquaint herself with the science relating to the increased ovarian cancer risk
associated with talc use that is central to the plaintiff’s cases against 
Johnson & Johnson. These types of hearings are common in mass tort cases that involve complex science, such as is associated with cancer epidemiology. She presides over the talc powder litigation consolidated in Los Angeles Superior Court and awarded the first trial date to terminally ill plaintiff, Eva Echeverria.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs argue that Johnson & Johnson and their talc supplier, Imerys, were aware of the cancer risk of talc but failed to warn their customers. While Johnson & Johnson continues to defend talc as safe, the plaintiffs present a wealth of data dating back decades that establishes the link between talc and increased ovarian cancer risk. The latest meta-analysis carried out by Dr. Boffetta et al. of The Tisch Cancer Institute provides further statistically significant evidence of this link.
In early March, Johnson & Johnson won a defense verdict in St. Louis, after losing four previous cases, three of which were also in St. Louis. To date, nearly $200 million has been awarded to the plaintiffs in these cases.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder-based products. If this has happened to you, we invite you to visit our Talcum Powder Lawsuit page to request a free consultation or call the Miller Firm at 1-800-882-2525.