Oral contraceptive use protects against ovarian and endometrial cancer: Study

"It was clear that women who had used oral contraceptive pills had a much lower risk of developing both ovarian and endometrial cancer. Fifteen years after discontinuing with oral contraceptives, the risk was about 50 per cent lower. However, a decreased risk was still detected up to 30-35 years after discontinuation," says Åsa Johansson at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, one of the leading researchers behind the study.

However, oral contraceptive pills have previously been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

"Surprisingly, we only found a small increased risk of breast cancer among oral contraceptive users, and the increased risk disappeared within a few years after discontinuation," says Johansson. "Our results suggest that the lifetime risk of breast cancer might not differ between ever and never users, even if there is an increased short-term risk."

The results from the current study are important, since oral contraceptive use has commonly been associated with side effects such as deep vein thrombosis and breast cancer.

"In addition to protecting against pregnancy, we have shown that oral contraceptive pills also have other positive effects. Our results can enable women and physicians to make more informed decisions about which women should use oral contraceptive pills," says Therese Johansson, one of the PhD students behind the study.