 |
| courtesy: Getty images |
Women who
have ever used the ‘pill’ have a decreased chance of having colorectal cancer,
endometrial cancer or ovarian cancer than women who had never used the pill
according to a new research from The University of Aberdeen, UK
The study
was published in February issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.[1]
The study
answers three important questions about safety of the use of OC. (1) What is the
duration of benefits for endometrial, ovarian, and colorectal cancer. (2) Does
combined oral contraceptive use during the reproductive years led to new cancer
risks as we age? (3) What is the risk benefit ratio for cancer among past users
as they age and enter old age when the general population risk of cancer
increases?[2]
This is the
longest running study of its kind that looked at data from 46,022 women who were
recruited by the UK Royal College of General Practitioners' Oral Contraception
Study in 1968 -1969 and were followed for up to 44 years. The study looked at
risk of specific and general cancer risk for women who have ‘ever’ used the
pill against the women who have ‘never’ used the pill.
The pill was
first approved for contraceptive use in 1960 and was an instant hit with 2.3
million women using it by 1963. Controversies ranged from its inception and are
still rife about the pill causing cancers, blood clots, heart attack and
stroke.
Few studies
have documented that women are protected against GI malignancies and are at
increased risk of breast and cervical cancer while currently using pills or
being a recent user.
The current
study data showed that the protective effect of pill lasts for 30 years even
after the pill is stopped and pill users have a 19% lower risk of GI malignancies,
26% lower chance of lymphatic, and hematopoietic cancer, 34% lower risk of
endometrial cancer and a 33% lower risk of ovarian cancer.
The study
showed a slight increased chance of breast and cervical cancer while using the
pill but this was neutralized and plummeted to the general population risk in 5
years of stopping the pill.
The cohort did
not show increased risk of any other malignancy as the women aged.
The authors
concluded that “Most women who choose to use oral contraceptives do not expose
themselves to long-term cancer harms; instead, with some cancers, many women
benefit from important reductions of risk that persist for many years after
stopping.”
Professor
Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the RCGP, said: “Millions of women worldwide who
use the combined oral contraceptive pill should be reassured by this
comprehensive research that they are not at increased risk of cancer as a
result – and that taking the pill might actually decrease their risk of certain
cancers.”[3]
“This is not
to advocate that women should be given the pill as a preventative measure
against cancer as we know that a minority of women do have adverse health
effects as a result of taking the pill. Ultimately decisions to prescribe the
pill need to be made on a patient by patient basis, but this research will be
useful to inform the conversations we have with our patients when discussing
various contraceptive options that are available.”
“Long-term
and ongoing research into the health effects of any medication is important in
shaping new clinical guidelines around the care we are able to provide to our
patients – and it’s encouraging to hear that RCGP research that originated in
in the 1960s is still having a positive impact and increasing our knowledge
now.”
[1] Iversen
L, Sivasubramaniam S, Lee AJ, et al. Lifetime cancer risk and combined oral
contraceptives: the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Oral Contraception
Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2017
[2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002937817301795
[3] http://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/2017/march/pill-study-should-reassure-millions-of-women-workdwide-says-rcgp.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment