A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds a surprising number of Americans believe scientifically unsubstantiated claims concerning cancer, and that population segments suffering the greatest burden of cancer are the most likely to be misinformed. To set the record straight:

1. The risk of dying of cancer in the U.S. is not increasing. In fact, the age-standardized cancer death rate has been decreasing since the early 1990s, and the 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has improved steadily over the last 30 years.

2. Living in a polluted city is not a greater risk for lung cancer than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Air pollution is actually far less likely to cause lung cancer than smoking cigarettes. Being a smoker, or even being frequently exposed to second hand smoke is more dangerous than the level of air pollution encountered in US cities. In fact, about 87% of lung cancers are thought to result from smoking or passive exposure to tobacco smoke.

3. Electronic devices, like cell phones, cannot cause cancer. In a recent study, cell phone users did not have a higher risk of brain or central nervous system cancers, salivary gland tumors, eye tumors, or leukemia. This was true even for people who had used cell phones for longer than 10 years. In fact, these long-term users appeared to have a lower risk of brain cancer.

4. Personal hygiene products, like shampoo, deodorant, and antiperspirants, cannot cause cancer. In fact, a carefully-designed epidemiologic study of this issue compared 813 women with breast cancer and 793 women without the disease found no relationship between breast cancer risk and antiperspirant use, deodorant use, or underarm shaving.

5. Underwire bras cannot cause breast cancer. Two anthropologists made this association in a book called Dressed to Kill. Their study was not conducted according to standard principles of epidemiological research and did not take into consideration other variables, including known risk factors for breast cancer. For more information about cancer myths, click here. If you have questions about specific cancer risk factors, call the American Cancer Society at 1.800.ACS 2345.