Is Talc-Huashi safe?

April 16, 2006

Hi Cory & All,

In Chinese medicine, Huashi-Talc is used both orally and topically. My

notes say:

Huashi; Talcum; Talc; Huashifen; Pulvis Talci; Talcum Powder

Nature: Sweet, Light / Smooth / Slippery (Dan); Cold

Channels: BL, LU, ST

Action: (1) Aid Urination (Diuretic) & Free Lin (Ease Strangury); (2)

Clear Heat & Disperse Summerheat; Astringe Damp & Stop Diarrhoea;

(3) As Topical to Clear Heat, Dispel Damp & Astringe Eczema

(Lianchuang); As Topical to Astringe surface moisture; useful for boils

and prickly heat

Uses: (1) Huashi + Zhuling (Polyporus), Zexie (Rz Alismatis),

Mutong/Baimutong (Caulis Akebiae), Haijinsha (Spora Lygodii),

Jinqiancao (Hb Lysimachiae), etc. in Heat Lin (Heat Stransury; Relin) &

Stone Lin (Urolithiasis; Shilin); Urination Hot, scanty / dribbling & painful

(Niao Resetong); (2) Huashi + Gancao (Rx Glycyrrhizae) in Watery

diarrhoea dt Damp Heat (Shire Shuixie) / Dysentery dt Summerheat

Damp; Summerheat & Damp w vexation & thirst (Shushi Fanke);

Summerheat syndrome w thirst & dysuria; Damp Heat w sweat,

continuous fever, limb pain / ache, oliguria w reddish urine; (3) Huashi +

Mingfan (Alumen), Huangbai (Cx Phellodendri), etc as Topical to

Control Excema (Wai Zhishizhen); Eczema dt prickly heat (Shichuang

Feizhi); exudative skin lesion, miliaria, etc.

Dose: Oral as Dec: 6-18 g; some sources say 24-30g to treat

urolithiasis; Topical: qs

Cory wrote:

> I am wondering if people are still using talc in Chinese medicine. I

> just read this info page about Talc being a risk factor for cancer:

> http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/talc.htm Any opinions?

> Cory

The main situations as regards Talc & cancer mentioned in that article

were:

(1) INHALATION: (a) By talc millers / miners; crude (unrefined) talc can

contain silica and asbestos; (b) by babies dusted frequently by talc in

baby-powder;

(2) MIGRATION to the female reproductive lumen of talc applied

frequently to the female external genitals / perineum.

The article said: " Talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the

ovaries and lungs of cancer victims " . In some cases, the talc was

contaminated with asbestos fibres (known to be carcinogenic).

IMO, that article is not fully true;

(1) Industrial talc mining / milling processes conducted under modern

Health & Safety Regulations would prevent or greatly reduce talc /

contaminated talc inhalation by talc workers.

(2) Intelligent carers of babies would apply talc in a way to eliminate /

reduce talc clouds from entering the babies' respiratory tract.

Also, the role of inhaled / perineal talc in cancer is controversial. A

check of Pubmed Medline showed recent papers which FAILED to

prove a talc-cancer link. For example:

Wild P. Lung cancer risk and talc not containing asbestiform fibres: a

review of the epidemiological evidence. Occup Environ Med. 2006

Jan;63(1):4-9. INRS Departement Epidemiologie en Entreprises, BP 27,

54501 Vandoeuvre Cedex, France. pascal.wild A literature

search was done and all epidemiological cancer studies mentioning talc

as a risk factor were selected. The talc exposed populations were

divided into three groups: (1) populations in which no other occupational

carcinogen was mentioned (only talc millers satisfied this criterion); (2)

populations of talc miners exposed to talc, quartz, and/or radon; and (3)

other industrial populations in which talc is associated with quartz,

nitrosamines, and asbestos depending on the study. No excess lung

cancer mortality was found for the populations of talc millers exposed to

high levels of talc but without any other potential carcinogen (SMR =

0.92, 42 cases) while the summary of mortality of talc miners exposed

to quartz and/or radon was in excess (fixed effect SMR = 1.20, random

effect RR = 1.85, 40 cases). Six studies in other industrial settings were

identified. All reported increased lung cancer mortality among talc

exposed workers but the talc exposure was confounded with other

carcinogens and only one study was able to adjust on them. In

conclusion, no increased lung cancer mortality was observed among

talc millers despite their high exposure experience. In populations in

which talc was associated with other potential carcinogens, some lung

cancer excesses were observed. Publication Types: Review; PMID:

16361399 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Coggiola M, Bosio D, Pira E, Piolatto PG, La Vecchia C, Negri E,

Michelazzi M, Bacaloni A. An update of a mortality study of talc miners

and millers in Italy. Am J Ind Med. 2003 Jul;44(1):63-9. Dipartimento di

Traumatologia, Ortopedia e Medicina del Lavoro dell'Universita di

Torino, Turin, Italy. maurizio.coggiola BACKGROUND: While

talc containing asbestiform fibers is considered a human carcinogen,

only limited animal and human data are available on non-asbestiform

talc. To provide further evaluation on the issue, we updated the analysis

of an Italian cohort of talc miners and millers in Val Chisone; talc found

here is free from asbestiform fibers. METHODS: The cohort was

comprised of 1,795 men who had worked for at least 1 year in the mine

and/or in the factory between 1946 and 1995. Vital status and death

certificates were obtained from registration offices in the municipality of

death or of birth. Employment, termination of employment, and detailed

job history were obtained from personnel records at the plant.

RESULTS: No excess was found for total cancer mortality, nor mortality

for lung cancer. No case of mesothelioma was reported. There was a

significant excess mortality from non-neoplastic respiratory diseases

(SMR 228.2, 95% CI 190.2-271.5). Mortality excess for non-neoplastic

respiratory diseases was mainly due to silicosis. CONCLUSIONS: This

study provides additional support for an association between talc in

mining and milling and non-neoplastic respiratory diseases, while

showing no significant excess risk for lung cancer and mesothelioma.

The results also provide additional information of interest to evaluate

the potential association between silica and lung cancer. Copyright

2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PMID: 12822137 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

Langseth H, Kjaerheim K. Ovarian cancer and occupational exposure

among pulp and paper employees in Norway. Scand J Work Environ

Health. 2004 Oct;30(5):356-61. Cancer Registry of Norway, Institute of

Population-based Cancer Research, Oslo, Norway.

hilde.langseth OBJECTIVES: A cohort study of

female pulp and paper workers in Norway has shown a significantly

increased risk of ovarian cancer. Other than the involvement of

hormonal and reproductive factors, little is known of the etiology of

ovarian cancer. Asbestos and talc are two agents hypothesized to

influence the development of the disease. The present study aimed to

investigate the association between ovarian cancer and occupational

exposure to asbestos, talc, and total dust among Norwegian pulp and

paper workers. METHODS: Forty-six cases of ovarian cancer, with four

controls each, were included in the study. Occupational exposure was

assessed by combining work histories from personnel files,

questionnaire information about production processes, and exposure

assessments from the mills. To obtain information about possible

confounders, cases and controls were invited to participate in a

personal interview. RESULTS: The odds ratio for asbestos exposure

was 2.02, 95% confidence interval 0.72-5.66. For talc exposure, the

odds ratio was 1.10, and for ever exposure to total dust, it was below

1.00. The risk estimates did not essentially differ after adjustment for

possible confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: The results do not

confirm an association between exposure to asbestos, talc, and total

dust and ovarian cancer among Norwegian pulp and paper workers.

However, the odds ratio for asbestos exposure was doubled, and

control for established nonoccupational risk factors did not change the

estimate. Therefore, the possibility that exposure to substances in the

work environment contributes to the elevated risk cannot be rejected.

PMID: 15529799 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Huncharek M, Geschwind JF, Kupelnick B. Perineal application of

cosmetic talc and risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer: a meta-

analysis of 11,933 subjects from sixteen observational studies.

Anticancer Res. 2003 Mar-Apr;23(2C):1955-60. Deptof Clinical

Oncology, Marshfield Clinic Cancer Center, Marshfield, WI, USA.

Metaresearch OBJECTIVE: Prior epidemiological studies

suggest an association between perineal cosmetic talc use and

increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. A meta-analysis was

performed to evaluate this suspected association. MATERIALS AND

METHODS: Using previously described methods, a protocol was

developed for a meta-analysis examining the association between

perineal talc use versus non-use and the development of invasive

epithelial ovarian cancer. Literature search techniques, study inclusion

criteria and statistical procedures were prospectively defined. Data from

observational studies were pooled using a general variance based

meta-analytic method employing confidence intervals previously

described by Greenland. The outcome of interest was a summary

relative risk (RRs) reflecting the risk of ovarian cancer development

associated with perineal talc use versus non-use. Sensitivity analyses

were performed when necessary to explain any observed statistical

heterogeneity. RESULTS: Sixteen observational studies meeting

protocol specified inclusion criteria were located via a comprehensive

literature search. These studies enrolled a total of 11,933 subjects.

Analysis for heterogeneity demonstrated that the data were

homogenous (p = 0.17) and could be combined in a meta-analysis.

Pooling all sixteen studies yielded a RRs of 1.33 (CI = 1.16-1.45), a

statistically significant result suggesting a 33% increased risk of ovarian

cancer with perineal talc use. Despite this finding, the data showed a

lack of a clear dose-response relationship making the RRs of

questionable validity. Further sensitivity analyses showed that hospital-

based studies showed no relationship between talc use and ovarian

cancer risk, i.e. RRs 1.19 (0.99-1.41) versus population-based studies

(RRs = 1.38, CI = 1.25-1.52). This suggests that selection bias and/or

uncontrolled confouding may result in a spurious positive association

between talc use and ovarian cancer risk in population-based studies.

CONCLUSION: The available observational data do NOT support the

existence of a causal relationship between perineal talc exposure and

an increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Selection bias and

uncontrolled confouding may account for the positive associations seen

in prior epidemiological studies. Publication Types: Meta-Analysis;

PMID: 12820486 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Also, I failed to find evidence on Medline that ORAL use (ingestion) of

talc poses problems.

Drug-pushers sometimes use Talc to " cut " (dilute) substances like

cocaine or heroin. Inhalation or intravenous use of these contaminated

substances can cause talcosis, esp of the lungs.

Best regards,

April 16, 2006