Decrease in Cancer Risk for Pill Users
Decrease in Cancer Risk for Pill Users
Sept. 11, 2007 -- More than 300 million women have used oral contraceptives since they were introduced in the early 1960s. Now a 36-year study shows a slight decrease in overall cancer risk in users of the pill.
In one of the largest and longest follow-up studies ever to examine the issue, researchers found a 12% decreased risk of any cancer in oral contraceptive users compared with women who never used birth control pills.
The study included 46,000 women followed for almost four decades from the late 1960s through 2004, when most were in their early to late 60s.
An increase in cancer risk -- especially cervical cancer -- was seen among women who took birth control pills for eight years or longer.
Researcher Philip Hannaford, MD, of the University of Aberdeen, says comprehensive cervical cancer screening, which is the norm today but was not in the early years of the study, can minimize this risk for long-term oral contraceptive users.
The findings appear in the latest online issue of the medical journal BMJ.
"The overall message is that women should not be frightened of the pill," Hannaford tells WebMD. "This is a very effective and safe method of contraception, especially when combined with regular cervical cancer screening."
Numerous studies over the years have examined the impact of oral contraceptives on cancer risk.
The consensus, based on the bulk of the research, is that contraceptive pill users have a slightly increased risk of breast, cervical, and liver cancer while they are on the pill and for a few years after.
Oral contraceptive users have also been found to have a lower risk for ovarian and uterine cancer, and that the protection lasts for at least 15 years after women stop taking oral contraception, Hannaford says.
The current study was done, he adds, to examine the overall pattern of cancer risk associated with oral contraceptive use.
The average age of the women in the study was 29 at recruitment between 1968 and 1969. Roughly half used oral contraceptives and the other half did not.
In one of the largest and longest follow-up studies ever to examine the issue, researchers found a 12% decreased risk of any cancer in oral contraceptive users compared with women who never used birth control pills.
The study included 46,000 women followed for almost four decades from the late 1960s through 2004, when most were in their early to late 60s.
An increase in cancer risk -- especially cervical cancer -- was seen among women who took birth control pills for eight years or longer.
Researcher Philip Hannaford, MD, of the University of Aberdeen, says comprehensive cervical cancer screening, which is the norm today but was not in the early years of the study, can minimize this risk for long-term oral contraceptive users.
The findings appear in the latest online issue of the medical journal BMJ.
"The overall message is that women should not be frightened of the pill," Hannaford tells WebMD. "This is a very effective and safe method of contraception, especially when combined with regular cervical cancer screening."
The Pill and Cancer
Numerous studies over the years have examined the impact of oral contraceptives on cancer risk.
The consensus, based on the bulk of the research, is that contraceptive pill users have a slightly increased risk of breast, cervical, and liver cancer while they are on the pill and for a few years after.
Oral contraceptive users have also been found to have a lower risk for ovarian and uterine cancer, and that the protection lasts for at least 15 years after women stop taking oral contraception, Hannaford says.
The current study was done, he adds, to examine the overall pattern of cancer risk associated with oral contraceptive use.
The average age of the women in the study was 29 at recruitment between 1968 and 1969. Roughly half used oral contraceptives and the other half did not.
Source...