I understand that African American women are particularly at risk of ovarian cancer caused by talcum powder. Can you explain?

In fact, statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a study published by the Journal of the National Medical Association indicate that ovarian cancer is less prevalent among African American women than among women of other races. However, African American women have been found, as a group, to use body powders more often, which has raised the instance of ovarian cancer linked to talc among African Americans. In a 2016 study published by the American Association for Cancer Research, researchers said more than half of the African American women studied used body powder regularly and that habit was “significantly associated” with risk of ovarian cancer. Those who used body powder on their genitals had more than a 40 percent increased risk of cancer, while those whose use was non-genital had an increased risk of more than 30 percent.

More distressing is a Johnson & Johnson company memorandum made public in recent lawsuits that says Johnson & Johnson outlined a plan in the 1990s to hike flagging sales of its body powder “by targeting” black and Hispanic women with its marketing.