A recent study has made the news by showing a correlation between hair products including dye and straighteners and an increased risk for breast cancer. Over a six-year period, it found that hair dye use was associated with 45% higher breast cancer risk in black women and 7% higher risk in white women. Dr. Larry Norton, medical director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at MSK was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “You cannot, based on these data, make the statement that hair dyes and straighteners cause breast cancer” and that “these effects were small.”

While this study does not show a direct causal link between breast cancer and hair products, there is other interesting research related to cancer and hair. Recently, researchers including Dr. Mario E. Lacouture (Director of the MSK Oncodermatology Program) have studied how cancer treatment can adversely affect cancer patients hair.

Dr. Mario E. Lacouture. Source: Robert A. Lisak.

While most people are familiar with hair loss during chemotherapy, cancer treatments have been shown to contribute to a range of hair disorders. Researchers are now beginning to investigate how these hair disorders can affect cancer patients’ quality of life.