Intake of Contraceptive Pills: May Reduce Cancer Risk?

Filed in archive Cancer , Women's Health on September 16, 2007

Previous research findings have always linked taking contraceptive pills or birth control pills to the development of cancer. Actually, as a woman, that has always been the notion I knew.




Maybe a lot of research developments have transpired since then or are the new findings just derived from an entirely different patient population? Because recent findings (published by the British Medical Journal) claimed that taking the contraceptive pill may even reduce the risk of developing cancer in most women.

The said findings were derived by researchers from the University of Aberdeen's analyses of data spanning a 36 year period from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Oral Contraception Study which began in 1968 - which involved 46,000 women, with an average age of 29.

In both data sets there was no overall increased risk of cancer among pill users. When the GP observation dataset was used, women who had taken the pill at some time during their lives had a 3% reduced risk of developing any cancer. When the larger main dataset was used, the reduction was 12%.

A 12% reduction equates to approximately one fewer case of cancer for every 2,200 women who have used the pill for a year and 3% equates to one fewer case of cancer for every 10,000 women.

In the main dataset women on the pill had statistically significant lower rates of large bowel/rectal, uterine body and ovarian cancer. The GP dataset also showed a reduced risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.

However, the researchers cautioned that in those women who have been taking contraceptive pills for more than 8 years are actually at a high risk of developing cancer.

So, maybe women should not use birth control pills continuously for years but instead alternate with another birth control method after some years.

Find more details from the University of Aberdeen.