Old hair dye formulas raise cancer risk

LUGANO, Switzerland, Jun 08, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- People who dyed their hair regularly before 1980 are more likely to develop lymphoma than those who never colored their hair, a European study concludes.

However, today's hair dyes appear to be safe since cancer-causing chemicals were removed in the 1970s, France's International Agency for Research on Cancer told the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma in Lugano, Switzerland.

People -- particularly hairdressers -- who were exposed to the chemicals before 1980 should check themselves for lumps and bumps, researchers said of the European study of 5,000 women.

Conference Chairman Franco Cavalli said the frequency of cancer that affects the lymphatic system of blood vessels has doubled in the western world in the past 20 years.

"While viruses and other infectious agents have possibly played the major role in this epidemic, scientists have since long suspected that other chemicals could be involved," Cavalli told the BBC. "We probably need many more studies looking at the environmental agents in the pathogenesis of lymphoma."