It’s been around since the 1890s, used in skin care and cosmetic products, industry, ceramics, roofing, plastics and paper. Even if you never came into contact with it as a baby or child, chances are you have heard of it: talcum power.
Since the 1970s, studies have indicated that talc may be — even studies conducted by one of its biggest commercial producers, the US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. But many studies and experts suggest it’s when talc is contaminated with asbestos that it becomes conclusively carcinogenic. Johnson & Johnson says its talc products “do not contain asbestos.”
However, after a series of court cases and multi-billion-dollar payouts, Johnson & Johnson stopped making talcum powder with talc in the early 2020s and now makes it with cornstarch instead.
Where do you buy talc?
Despite the decades of controversy surrounding talcum powder, and its alleged or real associations with cancer, people do still use it, DW has found.
So, If it’s talcum powder you’re after — you use it to create a feeling of dry skin on your body or prevent rashes — commercial talc can be bought in drugstores.
But to be on the safe side, pick a powder made with cornstarch. A review of scientific research published in 2000, concluded that “perineal powder containing cornstarch exclusively is not predicted to be a risk factor for ovarian cancer.”
While the finding relates only specifically to the perineum, an area of sensitive skin between the genitals and anus, it is significant because there have been major concerns that applying talc-based talcum powder in the perineum may have led to some women developing ovarian cancer.
Bear in mind, however, that it’s still disputed whether there is a direct causal link between talc and ovarian cancer.
Talc is ‘probably’ carcinogenic — asbestos is carcinogenic
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a body, said in 2024 that a working group of international experts had “classified talc as probably carcinogenic to humans.” But even then, the IARC presented caveats. It said the finding was based on:
- limited evidence for cancer in humans (for ovarian cancer)
- sufficient evidence for cancer in experimental animals
- strong mechanistic evidence that talc exhibits key characteristics of carcinogens in human primary cells and experimental systems
A “causal role for talc could not be fully established,” wrote the IARC in the paper.
As early as the 1970s, talc was found to be “co-located in ovarian tumor tissue,” according to a commentary published in the Journal Epidemiology in 2019.
Johnson & Johnson hired its own researcher in the 1970s to investigate links between talc and ovarian cancer. Their findings confirmed the presence of talc but also asbestos in ovarian cancer tissue.
Research on the carcinogenicity of asbestos is more conclusive. The WHO states clearly that “all forms of asbestos […] are carcinogenic to humans.”
Question: Why not simply remove the asbestos?
Answer: The IARC says it’s challenging to accurately measure asbestos contamination in talc. And industry, including mining companies, have long struggled to remove asbestos from talc products.
How does asbestos ‘contaminate’ talc?
Asbestos can contaminate talc during the mining process. Both minerals are naturally occurring, have similar properties, and are found close to each other in rock.
They are both composed of silicon, magnesium, iron, oxygen and hydrogen. Asbestos has been found to form within talc, however — present as microscopic deposits and larger, so-called discrete zones.
But the biggest problem appears to be a lack of standardized methods for testing talc for asbestos contamination, and the fact that asbestos fibers are hard to distinguish from talc fibers.
In December 2024, the US Food and Administration proposed a new rule for standardized testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products. That’s just in the US, and the rule was still under review at time of writing.
How does asbestos-contaminated talc cause cancer?
If inhaled, for example, asbestos fibers can get stuck in the lungs and remain there for years. If those fibers then cause inflammation and scarring, known as fibrosis, it can lead to cancer.
Scarred tissue does not expand or contract properly, so that can cause breathing difficulty, which is also one of the primary symptoms.
People who are at risk through inhalation of talc and asbestos fibers. Other people working in construction or in the plastics industries may also be at risk — talc is used as a reinforcing filler; it is heat-resistant and reduces material shrinkage.
In personal use: If particles pass through the vagina, for example, the uterus and fallopian tubes, and reach the ovaries, there may be a risk of cancer.
What types of cancer can asbestos-talc cause?
Asbestos in talc can cause mesothelioma, which is a cancer of a thin, protective layer of tissue — the mesothelium — that covers many organs, including the lungs, heart and testes.
Lung cancer can form when talc-asbestos fibers get into the lungs and cause cells to mutate genetically. This causes tumors to grow.
And ovarian cancer: This is perhaps the most-documented form of cancer caused by asbestos-talc, not least because to 22 women, who claimed the company’s talcum powder had caused the women’s ovarian cancers. In October 2025, claimants in the UK filed a similar suit against the company.
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
The post Talc, asbestos and cancer: What is the connection? appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
