Pill linked to cancer

Hormonal birth-control methods can increase the risk of breast cancer about as much as smoking and drinking, a new study has found.

Using hormonal contraceptives, such as the pill, even those with low doses of hormones, and intrauterine devices, comes with a 20 percent higher risk of breast cancer. The risk rises to 38 percent for women taking the pill for more than 10 years, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Now, women may have to rethink their contraceptive choices, says Dr. Freya Schnabel, director of breast surgery at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

“You have to put that 20 percent risk increase into context,” she says. “Women who smoke have a 20 percent increase in their risk for breast cancer ... [and having] two drinks a day gives you about a 20 percent increase, as well.”

But quitting birth control isn’t as straightforward as quitting smoking or drinking: Contraceptives can provide other benefits, including warding off ovarian, colorectal and uterine cancers.

So how scared should women be about birth control? Schnabel says women shouldn’t ditch the pill just yet— but they may want to consider switching to nonhormonal birth-control methods, such as condoms or hormone-free IUDs.

“The data is important, but I don’t believe that this is the sort of information that will lead us to say that people should not use hormonal contraceptives,” Schnabel says.

She encourages doctors to help patients weigh this and other breast cancer risks — such as a family history with the disease — against concerns such as pregnancy, endometriosis and other cancers.