Personal care products exposure patterns and prostate cancer: evidence from a case-control study in Mexico City

Personal care products (PCPs) use has been associated with a high risk of hormone-sensitive cancers in women. However, this association is poorly understood in hormone-sensitive cancers in men.

To investigate the association between PCPs use and prostate cancer (PC) and PC histological differentiation in men from Mexico City.

We analyzed the information from 400 histologically confirmed incident PC cases and 801 population controls matched by age (±5 y). The usage frequency (daily, weekly, or less, and non-use) of deodorant, body lotion, shampoo, perfume, and shaving or after-shaving products was evaluated based on a structured questionnaire. Using the K-means approach, we selected three patterns according to the usage frequency and number of PCPs used: high, intermediate, and low. Multivariable non-conditional logistic regression models adjusted by selected confounders were conducted to estimate the association between the use of PCPs (patterns, individual products, and number of products used daily) and PC, as well as PC histological differentiation.

Compared to the low exposure pattern, the high (OR: 2.6 95% CI: 1.8-3.8) and intermediate (OR: 1.3 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) PCPs patterns were associated with higher odds of PC. Similarly, the intermediate exposure pattern was significantly associated with poorly differentiated PC (OR: 1.8 95% CI: 1.1-2.9). The daily use of perfume was the most consistent PCP associated with PC (OR _{high vs. low}: 1.9 95% CI: 1.3-2.8; p for trend = 0.001) and PC poor differentiation (OR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.6; p for trend = 0.013). In addition, a dose-response relationship was observed with the number of personal care products used daily.

This study provided evidence that high exposure to personal care products (PCPs) is associated with prostate cancer. Our findings are consistent with those observed regarding hormone-sensitive female cancer and suggest the potential contribution of PCPs to prostatic carcinogenesis.