Talcum Powder Shown to Stunt the Growth of Tumors in Lung Cancer Patients

According to a study published in the European Respiratory Journal in April 2007, talc has shown to stimulate healthy cells to produce endostatin, a hormone released by healthy lung cells. Endostatin prevents new blood vessels from forming, slows cell growth and movement, and helps to cause nearby tumor cells to die off.

Although talcum powder has been used for almost 70 years to treat respiratory problems that usually accompany metastatic lung cancer, it has only been recently discovered that it stunts the growth of tumors.

About half of metastatic cancer patients develop fluid around the surface of the lungs which causes severe shortness of breath. This condition is known as malignant pleural effusion.

To help these patients, surgeons perform a procedure called a medical thoracoscopy with talc pleurodesis. In the procedure, surgeons close the extra space between the lung and the chest wall by blowing talc into the chest cavity. This irritates the tissue and creates tiny abrasions. When the lung tissue heals, it becomes permanently adhered to the chest wall, which helps the patients' breathing.

The Food and Drug Administration approved talc for use in medical thoracoscopy in 2003, but the University of Florida is one of just a few medical facilities in the United States that routinely perform this procedure.

In a press release from the University of Florida, Veena Antony, M.D., a professor of pulmonary medicine and chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine stated that “…talc causes tumor growth to slow down and actually decreases the tumor bulk. Talc is able to prevent the formation of blood vessels, thereby killing the tumor and choking off its growth. The tumors appeared to grow much slower and in some cases completely disappeared."

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