Birth control pills - oral contraceptives and CANCER RISK

Birth control pills, medically called oral contraceptives, are important medicines used by millions of women over the past 50 years. Besides preventing pregnancy, they are used for menstrual irregularities, preventing excessive bleeding, reducing premenstrual symptoms and treating ovarian cysts. However, because they contain estrogen and progesterone hormones , the cancer relationship of long-term oral contraceptive ( OKS ) use, alongside its benefits, has remained a subject of debate.

Women using birth control pills wonder, Do oral contraceptives cause cancer? I used them for a long time in the past; has my cancer risk increased? Results of a very important study addressing such questions were recently announced. Launched in Britain in 1968-69 and spanning 44 years in approximately 46 thousand women, it investigated the benefits and cancer-risk relationship of long-term birth control pill use and its effect on total lifespan.

According to the findings, women using birth control pills had;

• An overall cancer risk the same as nonusers (even slightly lower),
• Ovarian cancer risk % 33 lower,
• Uterine cancer risk % 34 lower,
• Colorectal cancer risk % 19 lower,
• Blood- and bone-marrow-derived hematological cancer risk % 26 lower as observed.
• Breast cancer and cervix (cervical) cancer risk increased with birth control pill use, continuing for another 5 years after stopping, and after 5 years becoming equal to that of nonusers; and
• Lung cancer risk was similar to nonusers (it was thought likely to increase in both groups because of aging and smoking).

No evidence was found of new cancer risks arising later in life among women using birth control pills. Even after stopping, they may protect against colorectal, uterine and ovarian cancers for years; this period might even exceed 35 years for colorectal and ovarian cancer.

Approximately 1.3 million women were recorded in this large, long-term study. It should be noted that, apart from smoking follow-up, it had some limitations: the composition of oral contraceptives used 50 years ago has changed over time, and factors such as diet, physical exercise, weight and alcohol use were not considered. Nevertheless, despite composition changes, it is encouraging that long-term birth control pill use does not increase overall cancer risk and may instead protect against some cancers over the long term and in old age.