Several women used to worry that the contraceptive pill that they are taking over an extended period might cause cancer. However, a study in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology has found out that the pills have the ability to reduce the risk of getting cancer in the long term.
Medical Observer shared that the pill has prevented some 200,000 cases of endometrial cancer, which affects the womb, over the last decade in rich countries alone. "Women who use it when they are in their 20s or even younger continue to benefit into their 50s and older, when cancer becomes more common," Valerie Beral, study co-author from the University of Oxford, said in a statement. "People used to worry that the pill might cause cancer, but in the long term the pill reduces the risk of getting cancer."
Moreover, the study revealed that about a quarter of the risk was reduced every five years of oral contraceptive use. "Taking the pill for 10 years, for example, cut the odds of developing endometrial cancer before age 75 from 2.3 to 1.3 cases per 100 users," the medical news outlet shared in its report.
To come up with the conclusion, researchers pooled the results of which included a total number of 140,000 women to compare past use of combined oral contraceptives in women with or without womb cancer. After a series of analyses, it was found out that, despite earlier pills containing much higher oestrogen levels, the protection from womb cancer was the same for women taking it during 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
NHS Choices reported that the findings are not new since the pill was already distinguished to reduce risk of womb cancer. However, the study proved that there is a huge and significant link between taking oral contraceptives and lowering of womb cancer risk.
Womb cancer has become relatively common nowadays - being fourth of the most common cancer in women -- compared in the past decades and one of its common symptoms is abnormal bleeding of vagina. The health news outlet added that women should consider which best contraceptive method they should use since there is a wide range of contraceptives being offered in the market today.
It was also emphasized that women should never opt to use oral contraceptives as an anti-cancer measure. "The finding is impressive and instructive," Nicolas Wentzensen and Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, both from the US National Cancer Institute, wrote in a commentary. They added that it is too early to know "whether an overall health benefit of oral contraceptive use exists that warrants specific recommendations for chemoprevention."
