PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Care
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1599491
This article is part of the Research TopicSkin Microbiome: Microbiological, Immunological and Cellular aspects for therapies to control Antimicrobial Resistance and Skin RepairView all 5 articles
Benzoyl Peroxide in the Treatment of Acne: Are There Potential Health Concerns?
Provisionally accepted
- 1Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- 2Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Benzoyl peroxide is a widely used and effective topical treatment for acne vulgaris, particularly in pediatric and adolescent populations. Despite its established safety profile, recent concerns emerged regarding its potential to decompose into benzene, a known carcinogen, under specific environmental conditions, like elevated temperatures and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.In this paper we review the management of acne vulgaris in pediatric patients, examine the evidence supporting benzoyl peroxide use and explore the recent studies evaluating the association between benzoyl peroxide use and malignancy risk. While initial reports raised alarm over benzene formation, subsequent investigations have not demonstrated an increased risk of hematologic malignancies. Here, we assess the strengths and limitations of existing evidence and identify future research priorities. Additionally, we provide recommendations for the safe and evidence-based use of benzoyl peroxide in pediatric acne treatment.
Keywords: Acne Vulgaris, Benzoyl Peroxide, Benzene, pediatric, Safety, Public Health, Dermatology, neoplasm
Received: 25 Mar 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jafarian, Czyz and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fatemeh Jafarian, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.