Hormonal contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer, a study has shown

Scientists from the University of Oxford have found that most, if not all hormonal contraceptives, from pills to implants and intrauterine devices, increase the risk of developing breast cancer. This is reported by a publication in the journal PLOS Medicine, LiveScience writes. It has been known before that contraceptives containing progestogen and estrogen lead to a slight increase in the risk of developing breast cancer.

However, recently, contraceptives containing only progestogen have been more popular. A new study has shown that both combined contraceptives and contraceptives containing only progestogen equally increase the risk of developing breast cancer by 20-30%.

The researchers studied information from the database of the National Health Service of Great Britain. The study participants were approximately 9,500 women under the age of 50 who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and 18,000 of their peers who had not been diagnosed with the disease. About 44% of breast cancer patients and 39% of healthy women from the control group took hormonal contraceptives, about half of which consisted only of progestogen. In women who took contraceptives, regardless of whether they were combined or only with progestogens, the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer was about 25% higher. The risk was the same for four types of contraceptives: pills, implants, injections and intrauterine devices and did not depend on age, body mass index or the number of births.

The researchers note that the risk of breast cancer, especially among young women, is low, so it can be assumed that their results show a relatively small increase in the overall risk. In addition, hormonal contraceptives reduce the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer.