Ovarian Cancer and "Tainted Talc": What Treating Physicians Need to Know

Our plain-English summary of Ovarian Cancer and "Tainted Talc": What Treating Physicians Need to Know, by R. Casey, T.P. Larkin (Missouri Medicine, 2019).

The study

• Authors: R. Casey, T.P. Larkin
• Journal: Missouri Medicine
• Published: 2019;116(2):83-86
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

In plain English

This article was a commentary by two attorneys, not a research study. It reviewed current knowledge about the causes of ovarian cancer, described talc-related ovarian cancer lawsuits in Missouri, and discussed what the litigation means for treating physicians. It centered on Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson, a July 2018 St. Louis case in which a jury awarded 22 plaintiffs $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages. In that case the plaintiffs argued that the talc was tainted with asbestos, asbestiform fibers and arsenic. The authors stated that neither talc nor asbestos has been shown to cause ovarian cancer, that studies linking talc use to the disease relied on women's memories, and that it was unclear whether the company's talc contained asbestos. They noted that a 2009-2010 survey commissioned by the FDA reported no asbestos in its samples. In Ingham, treating physicians who had not formed opinions on causation were not allowed to testify about causation. The authors concluded that physicians should be prepared for causation questions from patients at diagnosis and from lawyers years later.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Legal and medical commentary (narrative overview) written by attorneys; not original research
• Who was studied: No study population. The article discussed talc and ovarian cancer litigation in Missouri, mainly the July 2018 Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson verdict involving 22 plaintiffs in St. Louis City.
• Exposure: Use of talcum powder products, with alleged contamination by asbestos (no fiber type specified), asbestiform fibers and arsenic, as argued by the Ingham plaintiffs
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that neither talc nor asbestos has been shown to cause ovarian cancer.
  • The authors stated that the evidence associating talc product use with ovarian cancer relies on women's recall of past use.
  • The authors described a 2009-2010 FDA-commissioned survey of talc and talc-containing products. That survey reported that no asbestos was detected in any of its samples.
  • Citing a news report, the authors described allegations that a 1969 internal Johnson & Johnson memo referred to some talc samples testing positive for trace amounts of asbestos.
  • The authors stated that it was unclear whether Johnson & Johnson's talc products contained asbestos.
  • The authors stated that whether asbestos causes ovarian cancer remains an unresolved question.
  • In Ingham, treating physicians who had expressed opinions on causation were allowed to testify about it at trial; those who had not were not allowed.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that physicians of ovarian cancer patients should be prepared for patients' questions about causation at diagnosis and for lawyers' questions about causation many years later.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Ovarian cancer, Talc and vermiculite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Ovarian Cancer, Talc, Treating Physician.

Related studies

• Perineal talc exposure and epithelial ovarian cancer risk in the Central Valley of California — P.K. Mills, D.G. Riordan, et al. (2004)
• Perineal talc use and ovarian cancer: a critical review — J.E. Muscat, M.S. Huncharek (2008)
• Ovarian cancer and talc: a case-control study — D.W. Cramer, W.R. Welch, et al. (1982)
• Cosmetic talc and ovarian cancer — D.L. Longo, R.C. Young (1979)
• A review of perineal talc exposure and risk of ovarian cancer — B.L. Harlow, P.A. Hartge (1995)
• Perineal use of talc and risk of ovarian cancer — H. Langseth, S.E. Hankinson, et al. (2008)

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