According to a story from time.com, birth control pills may help reduce the risk of developing endometrial and ovarian cancer. This was after taking into account other potential risk factors, such as obesity, smoking, and physical activity.
Ovarian cancer often begins with vague symptoms that are difficult to use for diagnosis. Ovarian cancer can easily spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, lymph nodes, lungs, and abdominal lining. The risk of cancer developing is greater the more that a woman ovulates. This means that women who started ovulating earlier than usual or those that experienced menopause later than normal are at greater risk. Having children does not affect risk. About ten percent of cases are related to a genetic mutation that increases the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer that is detected early is often curable, but it is difficult to detect in the early stages. Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In the US, the five year survival rate is 45%. To learn more about this disease, click here.
The most recent study demonstrated that not only did birth control help reduce the risk, but that the longer a person used them, the greater their reduction in risk. For example, a woman who used hormonal birth control pills for a period of ten years saw a 40% decrease in their risk of developing endometrial or ovarian cancer. This was in comparison to a woman who had used the pill for under a year.
This is far from the first study to demonstrate the anticancer benefits of hormonal contraception. This study further investigated differences in risk among women who had other risk factors involved in order to assess the impact of contraceptive use. Interestingly, women who used the pill but had other possible risk factors, such as smoking or obesity, had the lowest rates of ovarian cancer. It is still unclear how these characteristics could have further reduced risk. Regardless, the reduction in cancer risk appeared to be universal; other health factors did not erase the benefit.
While birth control pills may not be an anticancer drug yet, researchers concluded that women who are considering using birth control should talk to their providers about the potential benefits of birth control when it comes to cancer risk, and also understand if they have any other factors that could increase their risk of developing endometrial or ovarian cancer.
