Modern pill can put women at increased risk of breast cancer
WOMEN taking hormone contraception such as the pill have a higher risk of developing breast cancer, a landmark study has revealed.
Using newer hormonal contraception methods increases women’s breast cancer risk by 20 per cent and experts say it remains higher for up to five to ten years after stopping.
The study is the largest conducted on breast cancer and common hormone contraception methods such as the combined pill, the progestogen-only pill and the longacting hormone-intrauterine system (IUS).
Around one quarter of women take the pill and about 17 per cent use long-acting contraception.
Previous studies on women taking older contraceptive pills showed ‘similar’ results.
The University of Aberdeen-led study followed 1.8million Danish women aged under 50 from 1995 to 2012 to assess breast cancer risk in users of different types of hormonal contraception compared to women who had never used such methods.
Researchers found in current and recent users of any hormonal contraception, the risk of breast cancer was 20 per cent higher.
The research was carried out by Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen.
However, the study suggested the numbers affected were likely to be low.
Professor Phil Hannaford, who led the Aberdeen research, said that among the 1.8million women, 11,517 cases of breast cancer occurred during almost 11 years.
He added: ‘We found that as a group, women who used hormonal contraception had a 20 per cent higher risk of breast cancer compared to those who never used it, but breast cancer is rare among young women so the absolute risk is very low.’
Researchers did not detect an increased risk in former users who had used the contraception for less than five years, while the increased risk in long-term users gradually decreased and disappeared after five to ten years.
Previous research on older women taking ‘first generation’ contraceptive pills found a ‘similar’ risk of breast cancer.
But the new study looked at younger women, many of whom were in their teens and twenties taking newer formulations of the pill and other hormone contraception methods.
Professor Hannaford said the previous research found benefits such as a reduced risk of other cancers, which may also be the case with modern methods.
He added: ‘The similar breast cancer results in both studies suggest that today’s pills have similar cancer risks and benefits as older preparations.
‘If this suggestion is confirmed, then, like previous generations of users, today’s pill users do not increase their overall lifetime risk of cancer by choosing hormonal contraception.’
The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Bekki Burbidge, deputy chief executive of the Family Planning Association, said: ‘Millions of women rely on hormonal contraception. If women are worried, they shouldn’t stop using their contraception, which could lead to unplanned pregnancy, but should discuss the benefits and risks with a doctor or nurse.
‘Hormonal contraception can also offer protection against certain cancers – the combined pill reduces the risk of cancer of the ovary, uterus and colon.’
‘Today’s pills have similar risks’